I’m Cara Rooney, an illustrator, plaything maker and workshop facilitator based in Dundee, Scotland, creating playful illustrations, interactive books and toys, portraying fascination for the natural world and childlike curiosity. I graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 2020 with a First Class Honours degree in BDes (Hons) Illustration and was awarded the Macmillan Prize for Illustration in 2021, for my book Ants, which was released by Two Hoots as A Little World of Ants in April 2024.

I currently work on a variety of illustration projects alongside facilitating design workshops and tours for families, schools and community groups in my role as a Freelance Educator at V&A Dundee.

My twin siblings were born while I was in university and they have reminded me of children’s innate curiosity about the world. I loved activity books and interactive books and wanted to create playful work capturing a sense of child-like curiosity for the world.

Since I was young, I loved going on nature trails in my local area and learning about insects in my Collins Garden Wildlife guide. In my fourth year dissertation, I investigated how anthropomorphism, sense of ownership of green spaces and spending time outdoors could encourage connection to nature in children.

I like to incorporate these themes into my projects and sketchbook work to encourage children and families to care for our planet.

For literary enquiries, please email my agent, Lucy Juckes, at lucy@jennybrownassociates.com

If you’d like to book me for reading related events and workshops, I am now part of the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature Directory. My profile is linked here.

For other enquiries, email me at caralouiserooney@gmail.com

My CV is available to view in full here.

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