I am a Dutch-born Canadian artist and children’s book author/illustrator best known for creating the Simply Small picture book series under the name Paola Opal. With a clean, bold artistic style, my work has earned recognition from the Alcuin Society for excellence in book design, a star from Kirkus Reviews, and multiple titles in the Simply Small series have been celebrated for engaging young readers and featured on best-of lists for great children’s books.
I’ve also worked in design education at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and at Vancouver Film School. I have a degree in Graphic Design for Marketing and live in Surrey BC, Canada. My legal name is Paola Syme.
Discover more about my background and art at paolasyme.com.