Francesca Ballarini was born in Bologna in 1995. She studied Illustration at ISIA Urbino with Chiara Carrer. She illustrated Un enfant comme un jardin by Beatrice Masini (Éditions La Joie de Lire, 2024). The Italian edition, Bambini e Giardini (Timpetill Edizioni, 2024), was selected as a finalist for the Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi 2025 in the picturebooks category. Her illustrations are part of exhibitions promoted by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair: Matite Giovani tra Illustrazione e Fumetto, Frankfurter Buchmesse 2024 and Eccellenze italiane. Figure per Italo Calvino, 2023. She works with Italian publishing houses such as Sinnos, Edizioni Primavera, Emme Edizioni. Francesca is also a high school graphics teacher.