Esmé Shapiro is an author and illustrator of books for children. She grew up amongst the succulents and coyotes of Laurel Canyon, California. These days, she lives in an old farmhouse in the Catskills with her husband and their two scruffy dogs.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Esmé is a past recipient of both the Nancy Lee Rhodes Roberts Scholarship and the SILA West 53 Gold Award-Phillip Hayes Scholarship. She has exhibited at The Society of Illustrators and her work has been featured in Taproot, Quill and Quire, and Plansponsor Magazines.

Her first book, OOKO, was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award and was #1 on the National Post Best Seller's List. Her most recent book, MY SELF, YOUR SELF, was listed as one of the Best Children’s Books of the Year 2023 by The Bank Street College of Education