I'm Mia Charro, an illustrator and author who has spent twenty years paying close attention to the small things most people walk past.
I grew up in Spain with my eyes fixed on the edges of things: the gap between tree roots, the expression on an animal that thinks nobody is watching, the light that filters through leaves at an hour that doesn't quite have a name. That way of seeing never left me. It became my work.
My books are full of those moments. Hidden doors at the base of old trees. Creatures mid-thought. Forests that hold more than they first let on. I make picture books for children who look twice, and I've found there are more of them than people think.
Over the years I have collaborated with Penguin Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Ediciones Fortuna, and onto fabrics, stationery, and objects made with brands like IKEA, TJX, Kay Dee… But what calls me back every morning is the story. The spread. The child who returns to a page because something was waiting there for them.
I'm based in the Basque Country, rooted somewhere between the forest and the sea. I work in Spanish and English, and I'm currently developing new picture book projects.
For author-illustrator work I'm represented by Emily van Beek at Folio Literary Management. For art licensing, by Jewel Branding & Licensing.
If you're an editor looking for someone who draws the world as it secretly is, I'd love to hear from you.🌿🎨
“Everything you can imagine is real”