Michelle Buvala is an author-illustrator with Small-Tooth-Dog Publishing, working in watercolor cut-paper collage inspired by the Sonoran Desert’s colors. Along with her husband Sean, she wrote and illustrated “The Gecko is on the Cover” and “The Fox and the Crow: Art and Stories Inspired by Aesop,” blending painted texture with cut paper to bring animal characters to life. Michelle also illustrates other Small-Tooth-Dog titles and holds a degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University. She lives and creates in Arizona, where the desert’s flora, fauna, and light are represented in her books.