Jamie Harper author page

Jamie Harper biography

Jamie Harper is a children’s author and illustrator whose work includes picture books, board books and classroom-themed animal stories. She is the author-illustrator of four Miss Mingo books, a series about a flamingo teacher and her animal pupils. Her other books include the Baby Bundt board books and the picture books Miles to Go and Miles to the Finish.

Before making children’s books, Harper worked as a pastry chef and in an office role involving numbers. She developed an interest in picture books through reading them to children, then took classes at MassArt and began making her own picture books. Her first illustration job was for a poem in Click magazine in 2001, and her first picture book was published two years later.

Miss Mingo and the First Day of School is a 32-page children’s nonfiction picture book for ages 4 to 8, written and illustrated by Harper. The book introduces Miss Mingo’s multi-species classroom and uses animal facts as part of the school story, including facts about how Cricket hears, how Snake smells and what Frog eats.

Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School is the fourth Miss Mingo book and continues the classroom setting with a story about hundredth-day activities. The Candlewick Press e-book edition has ISBN 9781536245585, is for ages 4 to 8, has 40 pages and has a publication date of 30 September 2024.