MEET THE TEAM
The People Behind
Ruff Butterfly
Writers, illustrators, and creators united by a shared love of storytelling — crafting books that touch souls, tickle funny bones, and leave lasting messages.
Author
Sarah Norton
Sarah hails from the Wirral peninsula but spent a lot of her childhood in southern Spain. She is fluent in Spanish.
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Sarah has worked for decades both as a teacher (reading hundreds of books to children) and as a therapist working with bodies and minds.
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She has a real understanding of how language can be employed to transcend barriers, and fully appreciates the power of words to destroy or heal.​
BOOKS
Bo, Zero to Hero, Amas Return, Jollylingo Series
Author
Hugo Douglas
Originally from Norfolk, Hugo has lived in the North West for quite some time.
As a professional actor and voice artist for 30 years, Hugo has crafted his career thus far around the use of words.
He has read, learned and performed the words of countless writers and has a long held passion for the sound of language.​
BOOKS
Bo, Zero to Hero, Amas Return, Jollylingo Series, Collective Detective series
Illustrator
Gary Plant
Gary has been drawing cartoons from the age of 5 (never too early to start) and was the first member of his family to go to university. He was 48!
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Gary is an illustrator with an uncommon gift, together with the skills required to employ a seemingly endless variety of techniques.
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Far from being solely an illustrator, Gary spent 20 years with Wedgewood pottery as a ceramic artist, and has even had one of his fine art oil paintings sold at Sothebys.
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(That doesn't mean, of course, that he himself is an antique!)
BOOKS
Bo, Zero to Hero, Amas Return, Jollylingo Series
Illustrator
Celine Wergeland
Celine has always loved telling stories through funny, whimsical, and sometimes dramatic characters.
The oldest of seven siblings, Celine dreamed of becoming an artist— inspired by the brilliant children's books she grew up with.
Now, her goal is to inspire children - in the same way those books once inspired her - through her art.
​Look carefully and you'll see her illustrations are filled with tiny details and hidden surprises, inviting readers to discover something new each time they turn the page. With every book, Celine aims to create a little magic and bring joy to children's lives.​​
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BOOKS
The Collective Detective
Media Consultant (Abilingo)
Abi Cooley
Abi is a social media manager who moved to the North West last year, after growing up down South, living abroad and working in the Midlands.
Always fascinated by language, she studied French and Spanish before specialising in Translation and Localisation, with a lifelong interest in language, culture and travel.
In recent years she has solo travelled in Peru and New Zealand before embarking on a Queensland road trip in Australia.
Abi believes that reading fiction develops our empathy, curiosity and imagination, and is excited to share Ruff Butterfly's values with the world.
Quality Control
Pip and Ted
Pip and Ted have been with Ruff Butterfly since the very beginning. Well Pip has, (Ted doesn't like being reminded that he is a junior member of staff.)
With their typical Springer Spaniel enthusiasm, positive attitude and nose for a good line, Pip and Ted have proven to be very hard working dogs.
When not on Quality Control duty, they assist with Social Media appearances for @ruffbutterflybooks. Fortunately Ted is a natural in front of a camera, however Pip gets too easily distracted by opportunities to add to his already impressive stick collection.
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They are the inspiration behind Dingo in our Jolly Lingo series and both now understand 'Biscuit' in over eleven languages.
Stella
Hero Journeys
Our mascots
Dingo
JollyLingo
Cassius
The Collective Detective
Stella, Dingo and Cassius
Our Mascots
Stella
Dingo
Cassius