Our Team
FOUNDER, CHILDREN’S AUTHOR, AND CEO
GISELLE SHARDLOW, M.ED.
Hello, my name is Giselle. I hold a Masters of International Education with almost a decade experience teaching grades K-5 in Guatemala, Australia, Canada and United States.
I am also a certified yoga instructor and have led yoga classes here and there to young children since 2005, the year I started writing these stories. When I was asked to teach my first kids yoga class, I dove into research and was surprised at how few resources there were for a kids yoga instructor. So, I wrote my own.
I have always been passionate about working with children and throughout my world travels, I recognized a great need to address child illiteracy, obesity and stress.
My goal is to write stories that make reading fun – combined with movement, the stories thoroughly engage children as they laugh, express themselves, and stretch their imagination.
I hope that my books, card decks, teaching resources, and other creative resources for kids are easy ways to introduce children everywhere to how fun reading and good health can be!
My Mission for Kids Yoga Stories is to bring education, health and happiness to young children everywhere.
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, JENN AUBERT
Besides being Giselle’s right-hand gal, Jenn is an author, entrepreneur, and healing practitioner. Her first book Women Entrepreneur Revolution: Ready! Set! Launch! (Balboa Press, 2014) explores the mindset, motivation and behaviors of successful female entrepreneurs and the role models in their lives who have influenced them.
After selling her bustling San Francisco acupuncture practice she moved to Portland, OR and launched a business supporting women business owners through education and mastermind circles.
Jenn joined Kids Yoga Stories in 2018 to support her close friend Giselle in growing the business to its fullest potential and she’s been loving every minute!
When she isn’t brainstorming new ways to bring yoga, mindfulness, and energy practices to children, she spends quality time with her son, husband, poodle-mix rescues Rocky and Lola, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, ANNABELLE HUMANES
After a decade in the UK and another one in Germany, Annabelle now lives in Portugal with her husband and two children. Annabelle would describe her career as that of a chameleon. She trained as a linguist and academic researcher in language acquisition. She worked in academia for over a decade teaching languages and carrying out research in language acquisition in young children.
When not traveling or eating her way around the world with her little European citizens, she writes at www.thepiripirilexicon.com about being the mother of two cross-cultural children and blending cultures and languages. Annabelle has also contributed to a book on the topic (How to Raise a Global Citizen: For the Parents of the Children Who Will Save the World, DK, 2021).
After a childhood immersed in yoga practice, she credits, in part, her adaptability skills to yoga. Annabelle Humanes wants to live in a world where diversity is celebrated and valued, where parents of multilingual children are never asked to stop speaking their home language(s), and more importantly, where books come bundled with chocolate.
COMMUNITY COORDINATOR, CASSANDRA TROUGHTON
Cassandra Troughton is an educator, writer, and speaker from Wabamun, Alberta, Canada. She has worked with Edmonton Public Schools for seven years, including six in special needs adaptability classrooms as an educational assistant. She was the Health and Wellness Lead at her school.
Health and wellness, especially positive mental health practices like mindfulness, is her passion. Her mindfulness recess club grew and flourished for five years, even transitioning from in person to online in 2020. She has presented at the Shaping the Future Conference 2021 & 2022 and the KYS School Yoga Bootcamp 2021.
Cassandra has been a guest writer on the KYS blog and has her own blog, mindfulmisst.com. When not busy writing, she enjoys practicing yoga and mindfulness, and being outside in her garden, most likely with her nose buried in a book. She considers herself to be a lifelong learner and loves sharing wellness and mindfulness with learners of all ages!
OUR ILLUSTRATORS
Simon Williams is a freelance illustrator and animator who lives in Manchester, England. He specializes in character animation and illustration and has worked on several projects including adverts, logo design and story-driven videos. He has always had a passion for creating art and enjoys helping others in their creative endeavours.
Lauren Hughes resides in Gloucestershire, England. Her love for the outdoors and exploring nature can be seen throughout her work, with animals and flowers making frequent appearances. Her aim is to inspire and educate people through her drawings, to evoke emotions, and to enhance understanding on many different levels.
Valerie Bouthyette is an award-winning graphic designer and fine artist, who holds degrees in advertising art and design and is a NYS certified early childhood teacher. Valerie calls on her imagination and memories of childhood to create illustrations that warm your heart and make you smile. She creates in her studio nestled in the farmlands, which she refers to as “her heaven.” Valerie lives with her husband in upstate New York, where she also own a small horse boarding facility.
Vicky Bowes grew up in rural England and currently lives on Gabriola Island in Canada. Her illustrations reflect her love of nature, and she is constantly inspired by the beauty of the world surrounding her. A keen traveler and conservationist, Vicky hopes that her work will inspire others to look after this amazing planet we all call home.
Emily Gedzyk is a world traveler who draws her artistic inspiration from the places she’s visited and the people in her life. She hopes to continue her journeys to new, exciting places and to teach everyone she meets that it’s never too early or too late to go out into the world on their own adventures. Her work can be found in our kids yoga books, Sophia’s Jungle Adventure, Luke’s Beach Day, and The ABC’s of Australian Animals.
Michael Koch has been working as an illustrator for over fifteen years, but he has been drawing and doodling his whole life. He has illustrated picture books for young readers and novels for young adults. He has always loved children’s books and children’s illustration. Michael found several artists especially inspiring, like Dr. Seuss, Chuck Jones (Looney Tunes), Ed Emberly, and E.H. Shepard (Winnie the Pooh). He is also drawn to the classic fairy tale illustrations of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac. He and his family live in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sam LeDoyen is an illustrator from the UK with a love for storytelling. Through narrative imagery, he aims to captivate the imagination of children and adults alike, hoping to entertain, educate, and inspire. His work can be found at www.samledoyen.co.uk.
Since her childhood, Hazel Quintanilla has been passionate about illustration. This dedication to her art has led very talented authors from around the world to her. She has illustrated more than twenty books, and she hopes there will be many more to come. She lives in Guatemala with her husband and their three beautiful dogs.
Paul Wrangles is a writer and illustrator from South Wales (U.K.). His whimsical illustrations can be found in children’s books such as Anna and her Rainbow-Colored Yoga Mats, Matthew and the Wellington Boots and The Champion Hare.
OUR SPANISH TRANSLATOR
OUR PORTUGUESE TRANSLATOR
OUR RUSSIAN TRANSLATOR
OUR GERMAN TRANSLATOR
Olga Mecking is a Polish woman living in the Netherlands with her German husband. She holds a MA in German Language and Culture as well as a MA in Media Culture from the University of Bremen, Germany. She is a translator, trainer in intercultural communication, and writer. Olga blogs about her experiences of living abroad, raising her three multilingual children and parenting on her blog, The European Mama.
OUR FRENCH TRANSLATOR
Isabelle Barth is French and lives in Ireland with her Irish husband and their two trilingual teenagers who are enjoying being brought-up with three languages and two cultures at home. A translator, blogger and language teacher, she holds a Professional Master in Translation as well as Professional Master in Didactics of Language. Founder of Expat Lang and Multilingual Education Cafe, she coaches families in their choice of a plurilingual education for their children. She has started to work in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg on pluriligualism and multiculturalism among expatriate children.
