Kyra Teis began her artistic career while majoring in folklore as an undergraduate. Drawn to symbolic and mythological imagery, she studied folktales and other stories from many different cultures. During this time, she identified that writing and illustrating children’s books would be a perfect way for her to combine many of the things she loved. While she went to graduate school, she worked to build a portfolio of artwork and started getting jobs as a professional illustrator.

Kyra has been surrounded by the arts all her life. She owes her love of costume to her mother whose first career was a costume designer for the theater. Kyra remembers playing in theater workshops with fancy wigs, fabric and colorful trim from a very young age. She learned her distinctive paper collage technique from her father, who was a contemporary artist. Her father’s studio was always open to her, and she had unlimited access to paper, paint, and other art supplies. In high school, Kyra sat in on many of her father’s classes that he taught while serving as Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Delaware.

These days, Kyra draws inspiration from her extensive travels, her husband, and young daughter. She enjoys designing creative workshops for school visits and speaking to students about making stories and images of their own. Kyra lives near Albany, New York.

[Pronunciation guide: Kyra Teis (kee-ra tice — like "ice")]

Speaking of Me
written by Beth Mathers
illustrated by Kyra Teis
Star Bright Books, 2006
ages 10 and up, spiral-bound hardcover
ISBN 978-1-59572-039-9

A handbook for life and self-discovery, Speaking of Me grew out of the highly-successful workshops Beth Mathers conducts with teens and at-risk teens. Quotes and aphorisms by great men and women, spanning all cultures and all eras of civilization, are the starting point for a workbook that everyone can use to find self-knowledge and a way to a fuller life. Subjects include courage, friendship, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, learning to love and be loved, and many other essential aspects of happiness and fulfillment.

Look!
written and illustrated by Kyra Teis
Star Bright Books, 2005
ages birth to 4, ISBN 978-1-59572-022-1

Very young children need little prompting to identify shapes and colors just as soon as they can say the words, and they will delight in the many visual treats enclosed in this book. Each page is a vibrant abstract painting that allows children and adults to imagine and find the what, where, which and how of color and shape. A splendid book that will also inspire those children old enough to make their own art.

Teaching Guide available for this title.

Read to Me
written by Judi Moreillon
illustrated by Kyra Teis
Star Bright Books, 2004
ISBN 978-1-93206-549-7

Read to Me is a gentle rhyme that shows the quiet side of family life through beautiful images of families of all kinds. It speaks of the importance of reading to children from the time they are born.

Spanish version:
Vamos a Leer
by Judi Moreillon
ISBN 978-1-93206-550-3

Daughters of Eve
written by Lillian Hammer Ross
illustrated by Kyra Teis
Barefoot Books, 2000
ISBN 978-1-90228-382-1

A collection of heroic tales of women mentioned in the Talmud and Apocrypha, such as Miriam, Esther, Ruth, and Abigail. The courage and heroism of these brave women shines through the centuries in this beautifully told and handsomely illustrated volume. Each story is prefaced by a brief note of its historical or political context.