Tony Piedra

Tony Piedra is a children’s book author and illustrator known for combining visually rich artwork with engaging nonfiction storytelling. He is the cocreator of One Tiny Treefrog: A Countdown to Survival, a nature-based counting book about the life cycle of the red-eyed treefrog, created with his wife and creative partner, Mackenzie Joy, and published by Candlewick Press. He is also the author-illustrator of The Greatest Adventure, a picture book published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. Piedra’s work often blends concepts like counting and natural selection with dramatic, cinematic visuals.

Piedra grew up in Houston, Texas, where he spent much of his childhood drawing and exploring the outdoors. He later relocated to California and worked for many years at Pixar Animation Studios as a sets technical director, contributing to the environments in films such as Up, Cars 2, Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, and Coco. His illustration work has been recognized by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, which awarded him a Portfolio Showcase Honor in 2014. He now lives and works in Northern California, continuing to write and illustrate children’s books, frequently in collaboration with Mackenzie Joy.