Barbara Leonard Gibson

Barbara Leonard Gibson received her B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University. She illustrated more than three dozen books including The Nutmeg Adventure; A Picture-Perfect World; Let's Explore a Tropical Forest; Hide &Seek; the National Geographic Society's award-winning pop-up book, Creatures of the Desert World; and the six-book collection, The Little Learner's Library I. She also illustrated Patricia Cornwell's Life's Little Fable and best-selling children's author Audrey Penn's The Whistling Tree and A Pocket Full of Kisses.

An ardent environmentalist, she specialized in horse, wildlife and nature illustration. Barbara passed away in 2018, but she was often found either at the small farm where her two horses are boarded, or at a therapeutic riding center where she volunteers her time. She and her composer husband, Robert, lived in Olney, Maryland with their dog, Sadie. Their grown daughter Caitlin lives nearby.