When Paul Owen Lewis was a young boy, his father gave him a toy sailboat, promising his son that later they would buy a real sailboat and sail together. But Paul's father became ill and was never able to buy that promised sailboat. Paul was very disappointed but realized that he could at least draw sailboats. By the time he reached fifth grade, he drew the best sailboats in his class.

As a grown-up, Paul finally bought his own sailboat. He also earned a degree in fine arts from the Cornish Institute in Seattle and a teaching certificate from the University of Washington. He taught for two years but soon realized that he wanted to be an author and illustrator.

Paul's first book, Davy's Dream, was created by chance when he visited a whale museum in the San Juan islands near Seattle. He combined his childhood dreams of owning his own sailboat with his adult desire to be among the whales. With Davy's Dream, Lewis showed children that dreams pursued can come true.

Paul's message to students is that everyone has dreams as well as difficulties in their lives. But those who believe in themselves can overcome these problems and discover qualities about themselves that they didn't even know they had. Paul is a living example of his own motto: Dreams pursued can come true!