Milla Takes Charge

Erin Soderberg Downing was obsessed with Disney's The Little Mermaid as a kid. She loved Ariel's sense of adventure, and longed to explore and learn about unfamiliar places. Growing up, she dreamed of venturing into outer space, hoped someday she might live in New York City, and planned to travel the world. Though she never made it to space, Erin did live in New York City (as well as in England and Sweden), and she has explored many countries around the world. Now, she lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, three adventure-loving kids, and a mischievous Goldendoodle named Wally. Before becoming an author, she was a children's book editor, a cookie inventor, and also worked for Nickelodeon. She has written many books for young readers, including the Quirks and Puppy Pirates series.

Anoosha Syed is a Pakistani-Canadian illustrator and character designer for animation, receiving her BFA from Ceruleum Ecole d'arts Visuels in Switzerland. She loves to create diverse characters and stories, and her favourite Disney princess is Rapunzel. Her work can be found at anooshasyed.com.