Born in La Malbaie, Danielle Chaperon learned to read on the back of oversweetened cereal boxes. She then devoured every comic book she could get her hands on. Many years later, she went on to study literature at Laval University in Quebec City, but teaching really appealed to her. Therefore she enrolled at the University of Ottawa in education sciences; she taught French as a second language there for a few years. She then returned to Quebec, where she taught for many years.