Jenny Mattheson grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. With a mother who is a painter and a father who is a musician, Jenny was exposed to the arts at a young age. She was especially interested in drawing and painting. She filled large sketchbooks with drawings of princesses, talking chickens, teenage mermaids and wicked stepmothers. Her artwork hasn’t changed very much since her childhood; she still has a strong appreciation of whimsical situations and characters.

She attended the Art Institute of Boston, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration, and also spent a semester abroad in Rotterdam, Holland. Towards her last year of college, she began to focus mainly on children’s book illustration.

Two years after graduating college, Jenny was offered a contract with Little, Brown & Company to illustrate her first picture book: “The Mouse, the Cat and Grandmother’s Hat,” by Newbery Award-winning author, Nancy Willard. Jenny has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since. Her newest book, “Happy to be Girls,” written by Sarah Davies, came out in May 2005.  Jenny currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Her artwork hasn’t changed very much since her childhood; she still has a strong appreciation of whimsical situations and characters.