Mikey Please author page

Mikey Please biography

Mikey Please is an author, illustrator and animator whose children’s books include the picture books The Café at the Edge of the Woods and The Cave Downwind of the Café. The Café at the Edge of the Woods was published by HarperCollins in 2024 and is a 48-page picture book for young children.

The Café at the Edge of the Woods is written and illustrated by Mikey Please. Its story follows Rene, who opens a café at the edge of a wood, hires the green creature Glumfoot as a waiter and has to serve an ogre with unusual tastes. The book uses rhyme, magical creatures, slapstick humour and detailed illustrations, making it relevant for picture-book work with early years and Key Stage 1 pupils.

Please also worked on Robin Robin, a children’s book written with Dan Ojari and illustrated by Briony May Smith. Robin Robin retells the story of a young robin raised by mice, who tries to prove she can be a good mouse before discovering who she really is.

In 2025, The Café at the Edge of the Woods won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. In 2026, Please was included on the British Book Awards Illustrator of the Year shortlist, where his work was identified with his debut picture book The Café at the Edge of the Woods and his animation background.