John Hare spent his youth in Kansas drawing comic strips and writing stories about a crime-fighting crocodile. He earned an associate's degree in graphic design and became an art director for a sportswear company, later moving to Kansas City to work as a freelance graphic designer. Jeanne Willis was born in St Albans, Herts, in 1959. Jeanne is an internationally renowned, full-time writer and has published over a hundred books - ranging from picture books including The Bog Baby and Who's in the Loo?, to YA, poetry and fiction. She has won several awards, including the Children's Book Award, the Silver Smarties Prize and has also been shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.