Amanda Yoshida first dreamt of being a children’s book illustrator when she was a mere toddler, growing up in the suburbs surrounding Portland, Oregon.

As a child, she spent countless hours drawing and studying the artwork inside her stacks of colorfully illustrated books. She favored the rhyming words and silly drawings of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein and claimed one day she would be an artist.

Eventually, the pens and pencils that were always in her hand became paint brushes in her exploration of creativity. At the age of fourteen, her original artwork was displayed and sold at her family’s art gallery in Portland’s Pearl District and lead to substantial private commissions.

After graduating from the elite Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Los Angeles in 2009, she fell in love with the digital canvas and began working solely in this media.

Amanda returned to her beloved hometown of Portland in 2013 and began working as a freelance graphic designer and digital painter. While in the midst of growing her successful business and putting down roots with her husband, the dream of becoming a mother and published author was realized.

Two months before the birth of her first child, she received word that her first children’s book, would be published. Amanda now enjoys reading her debut book, “The Greatest Wish” to her son, Morgan. She is currently working on the next installment of the Everchanging Story Book series.

For more information on Amanda Yoshida and The Greatest Wish, visit her website.

• Becoming a Mother and an Award Winning Author