Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Phyllis was granted her first success in the art world by winning a poster contest in grade school. Her family didn't have many children's books except for those that came free in family size boxes of laundry detergent. However, the few she did have, she poured over for hours on end, looking at every picture with great admiration and dreamed of making pictures as wonderful as these one day. After the encouragement of many great teachers in high school and college, Phyllis started her career in art at a local city newspaper. After the birth of her daughter, she began freelancing for clients such as Hallmark Cards for the next fifteen years.Phyllis began her full-time illustration career for children's publications in 1999. Since then, her illustrations have appeared in magazines and books for clients such as Scholastic, Standard Publishing, Fisher-Price, Hooked On Phonics, Houghton Mifflin, McGraw-Hill, Weekly Reader and Highlights High-Five Magazine. To see full client list visit http://www.phyllisharris.com/clientlist.html .