• Age: 3 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

Sally loved taking baths. It wasn't because the water was full of bubbles — or because she had the bathroom all to herself — and it was not because she always came out squeaky clean — Sally loved taking baths because it was the only time she could talk to the Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain.

Sally found out about him when her mother sang to Sally's baby brother about Baa Baa Black Sheep and his three bags of wool — one of which went to the Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain. And thus a friendship was born.

Every bath that Sally took after that was devoted to discovering more about her new friend. But this charming picture book is about more than the Little Boy, it's about family and siblings, and friends — and about growing up.

Carolyn Huizinga Mills' first picture book, The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain, was chosen as a 2018 Blue Spruce Honour Book, which gave Carolyn the opportunity to meet many excited readers through school visits and at the Forest of Reading Festival in Toronto. Her debut novel, The Good Son, was published in March 2021, and her second novel is scheduled to follow within a year or so. Carolyn plans to write many more books and can be found snuggled up in her office at 5am most mornings with her notebook or laptop and a hot mug of tea. She is also a grade 7 teacher, which allows her to share her passion for reading and writing with her students. She grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and now lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband and two children. Carolyn loves playing soccer, camping, traveling, and eating dark chocolate. Reading Blue Spruce and Yellow Cedar Awards, among many others. Born in a future police station in London, England, Deborah now lives in Thornhill, Ontario with her husband, two kids, and a rescue Schnoodle named Freddie.

Carolyn Huizinga Mills' profile page

BROOKE KERRIGAN est une artiste, graphiste et illustratrice de livres pour enfants. Elle est diplômée du Sheridan College en illustration interprétative et a illustré plus de dix livres pour enfants, dont Fishermen Through and Through, Plan for Pops et The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain, qui lui a valu un prix Blue Spruce. On peut aussi voir son travail dans les pages du magazine Chirp. Brooke partage son temps entre l’Ontario et une petite ville des Alpes françaises

BROOKE KERRIGAN grew up surrounded by books and the love of art. Now she has illustrated more than a dozen books including Fishermen Through & Through, A Plan for Pops and the Blue Spruce Award Honour Books The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain and Kiss Me! I’m a Prince.

Her fun and whimsical illustrations are created in watercolour, gouache, pencil crayon and collage. Born and raised in Toronto, she now splits her time between Tiny, Ontario and a little town in the French Alps called Chamonix. Visit her at www.brookekerriganillustration.com.

Brooke Kerrigan's profile page

• Commended, Blue Spruce Award