James Burks spent 15 years working in the animation industry on various movies and television shows, including The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Space Jam, The Iron Giant, Wow Wow Wubbzy, and most recently on Fan Boy & Chum Chum. James is the author of the Bird & Squirrel graphic novel series for Scholastic, as well as the illustrator for the Branches series Haggis and Tank Unleashed. James lives in Valencia, California.