Lorette Broekstra was born in the small Victorian town of Yallourn. Her love of art led her to study Graphic Design in Melbourne, before travelling to Holland where she worked as a freelance artist for 8 years. After her return to Australia, Lorette wrote and illustrated her first children's book, Baby Bear Goes to the Zoo, which won the Crichton Award for Illustration in 2000, for her then 2 year old daughter. Lorette has illustrated numerous picture books by other authors as well as those she has written herself. She currently teaches at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Council of Adult Education in Melbourne.