Éric Puybaret was born in Auvergne in 1976. In 1994, he entered the Met de Penninghen preparatory workshop. The following year, he entered the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where he specialised in illustration. In 1999, he won first prize prize at the Bologna Children's Book Festival in Italy. His first book, Au Pays de l'Alphabet, was published in 1999 by Gautier-Languereau, but it was Cache-Lune (2002), which he wrote and illustrated, that gave full expression to his poetry. This album was published in eight languages, both in Europe and Asia (Japan, China, Korea).This was followed by several major albums translated into many languages. In addition to France, he has enjoyed great success in a number of other countries: The United States, where he published the huge bestseller, Puff the Magic Dragon, set to music by the group Peter Paul and Mary; over a million copies sold worldwide. In North America, he also published a number of best-selling books: Over the Rainbow, When you Wish upon a star, The Night before Christmas and Manfish the story of Cousteau, making him a well-known and respected figure in the illustration world.He has carried out several campaigns for international institutions such as UNESCO, UNICEF and the Council of Europe. Éric's critically acclaimed work was praised by The New York Times as "elegantly rendered" and Publisher Weekly calls the artist's style "graceful and whimsical".