"Valerie was born and raised in Llov, Ukraine and later moved to Minsk, Belarus. There she graduated from the Belarus State Academy of Arts. She is currently teaching design and illustration at several NYC colleges. She has illustrated more than thirty books in Russia, and recently produced "Thankful Together" and "Bella Basset Ballerina" in the US. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. Her daughter is a Columbia student and resides in NYC. Valerie's main hobbies include mountain skiing, surfing, and billiards".
