Close-up of a hand with fingers spread apart, with a blurry background and horizontal lines across the image.

Our Story

Seeing the World for the First Time, Again

Welcoming baby Philomena into the world gave us a chance to do the seemingly impossible: to see the world for the first time again.

Her absolute favorite thing to do every morning is to peek out the window and watch the early light stream through the tree leaves. Throw in some sleepless nights, the sense that our world is changing, and the anticipation of the day she inevitably asks us, "how are clouds made?"... and Little Elk Books was born.

The Farmer in the Sky began as a family heirloom, a physical reminder for Philomena's first birthday that we hope her dreams will always be as big as the sky and grounded in the earth below.

  • A vintage typewriter on a wooden table with sheets of paper, a cup of coffee, and a rainbow illustration, with part of a colored chart in the background.
  • Close-up of a person holding a book with a rainbow illustration on the page. The person's face is partially visible, and the background includes a doorway and a white wall.

We are engineers by trade, purpose-driven professionals by day, and proud parents around the clock.

This project became the beautiful intersection of our life's work:

  • Climate Tech & Conservation: Brian's career in climate tech, supporting farmers around the world adapt to the weather, inspired the story of the sky's busiest cloud maker.

  • Holistic Wellness & Art: Erringer's background in holistic wellness and her love for the natural world brought the vibrant, watercolor valley to life.

We wanted to give our daughter (and children everywhere) a beautiful reminder of nature's gift of balance.

A Marriage of Passions

our roots

We are proud to live, work, and write in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, where we spend our mornings watching the sun peek through the clouds with our favorite little farmer, Philomena.

meet the creators

A man smiling outdoors with green foliage in the background, wearing a pink checkered shirt.

Brian is a climate-tech engineer who has spent his career looking up at the sky and thinking about how weather impacts us all. The Farmer in the Sky is his debut picture book, born from a desire to explain the magic and importance of the water cycle to his daughter.

Brian Miranda, Author

A smiling woman with blonde hair sitting on stone steps, wearing a white sleeveless top and a delicate necklace.

Erringer is an engineer and holistic wellness advocate with a deep love for the natural world. Using traditional watercolor techniques, she brings the lush valleys and sweeping skies of Philomena's world to life, focusing on the beauty of light, shadow, and nature's inherent balance.

Erringer Helbling, Illustrator