About Louis

Louis Papadakis is an Award-Winning & Amazon Best-Selling Children's Books Author, Artist, Stepfather and a Husband, who has proudly grown a bright stepson and pampered a spoiled kitty. He holds a Fine Arts Degree and was a finalist in the Richert Ziebold Trust Award for the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois. He later attained a full scholarship for his Master's in Fine Arts program at the School of Figurative Art in New York City.

For a while he worked as a substitute teacher of Art and dedicated himself to crafting materials that enhanced his students' learning journey. He always finds himself — in daily life and in his work — in the same whimsical inner journey he employs in his character illustrations, always looking for teachable moments that can be distilled down to simple life principles that even a child can enjoy and understand.

An Inspirational Journey

Illustrative storytelling has always felt vibrant and captivating to Louis. To this day he feels so alive when finding himself in the children's book section at the bookstore. Children's story books aren't just stories — they are inspirational pieces of Art bursting with imagination, and fun for any age to enjoy whether you are 3 or 83.

But there is a much deeper reason for this book. A very personal one.

Years ago, he was thrusted into fatherhood by becoming a dad to an incredible stepson. This changed his life in a profound way that he couldn't ever imagine. Every night, before bed, he would sit together with the little boy and dive into the world of picture book bedtime stories.

Gertie's Story — And Yours

Louis wrote Gertie Braves the River because he witnessed firsthand how a great story can bond a parent and child, and shape how a child sees themselves.

If you've been looking for a book your child will truly connect with — one they'll ask for again and again — this is it.