Gianna Marino
Gianna Marino is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Don't Let Them Disappear, written by Chelsea Clinton and author/illustrator of over a dozen children books, including: Zoopa: An Animal Alphabet, One Too Many, Meet Me at the Moon, Too Tall Houses, Following Papa's Song and Night Animals.
She was born in San Francisco and spent her early years galloping horses through Golden Gate Park. Her explorations expanded after graduating from high school and in order to afford her many journeys, Gianna had several jobs at once: apprenticing a muralist, a jewelry designer, a product designer and driving horse carriages through the park. Gianna explored many corners of the world, from Africa and Asia, to the South Pacific and Europe, to crewing on sailboats in the high seas.
Gianna finally landed a full-time freelance gig designing toys for children, but after several years in a corporate box with no windows, she left for good and began painting, illustrating and writing books for children. She works on her books in Northern California, but still finds time to step into nature.
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful. Nurturing. Endless
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility
Peace
How to be still and silent
3 most treasured Nature spots?
I won't list specifics, because I don't want to expose a quiet place.... But my treasured spots are forest, desert, water
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I just took a deep breath
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like walking forever
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like I should run if it is erupting!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful and present
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
In awe
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like nature is speaking
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
100
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 10 years old, I was riding my bike through Golden Gate Park. A man and his daughter came up to me, saying they had just found a little duckling and didn't know what to do with it. I put the little bird in my pocket and took him home. In that moment, my life changed and so began the caring of lost little birds.
