Rafael Yockteng was born in Lima, Peru, on July 7th, 1976. His family moved to Colombia in 1980, country where he currently resides. He studied graphic design at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogot�, where he met master Rodez. Rodez influenced him profoundly, motivating him to devote his time to graphic design. In the year 2000 he won the Utopia contest (IBBY), addressed for Latin American children�s books illustrators, in company of other three talented illustrators �including his master. In 2003 he won the contest to illustrate the International Children�s Day poster. As of then he has illustrated several books for publishing houses in Colombia and the rest of the world: Groundwood Books, Norma, Santillana, Alfaguara, Ediciones B, Casa Editorial El Tiempo and Babel Libros. In 2008 he was awarded the price �A la orilla del viento�, alongside with the writer Jairo Buitrago for their book �Camino a casa� (The Way Home) which recently became part of the IBBY Honour List. Their book �Eloisa y los bichos� (Eloisa and the Bugs) is part of the White Ravens Catalogue. The Venezuelan Banco del Libro also selected the book as one of their best titles.