Written by the Be Free Campaign team including Dr Shantanu
Kundu, Lottie Seymour, Finn Thompson, Soundarya Kandarpa,
Kimberley Adams, Louisa Clarke, Elizabeth Colenso, Seren
Mackenzie, Emma Lanza, Zoe Edwards, Bethany Rhodes,
Dr Olga Konstantinidou and Dr Natalie Ashburner

About the Illustrator

From the moment she could hold a crayon, Kimberley Adams has always been drawing. What began as a chaotic (or rather, creative) mess grew into a lifelong passion for illustration; her way of making sense of the world and adding a touch of magic to it.

Growing up, books like The Magic Faraway Tree, The BFG, and The Steps Behind the Chimney sparked Kimberley’s imagination. The illustrations in those stories didn’t just decorate the pages; they opened doors to entire universes. Today, she creates her own worlds with the same belief that stories are everywhere; in memory, folklore, community, and the spaces where imagination meets reality.

Kimberley’s work is playful and vibrant, filled with bold colours and dynamic textures, but it also carries deeper threads: connections between past and present, land and sky, myth and memory. At the heart of her illustrations is a desire to teach children about values, kindness, and the lessons of life; reminding readers that stories don’t just entertain, they guide us too.

Her debut picture book is t