Biographical note

David Almond is the acclaimed author of Skellig, winner of the Whitbread Children's Award and the Carnegie Medal; Kit's Wilderness, winner of the Smarties Award Silver Medal, Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Guardian Award; and The Fire-Eaters, winner of the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Gold Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. David has also collaborated with Polly Dunbar on the highly acclaimed My Dad's a Birdman and The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon, and with Dave McKean on The Savage, Slog's Dad and Mouse Bird Snake Wolf. David lives in Hexham, Northumberland. To find out more about David and his books, go to www.davidalmond.com

Polly Dunbar is a major star in the picture-book firmament. She is the author-illustrator of Penguin, Dog Blue and Flyaway Katie, and the illustrator of Shoe Baby, written by her mother, Joyce Dunbar. Her best-selling book Penguin has won numerous awards including the Book Trust Early Years Award 2007, the Nestle Silver Children's Book Prize 2007, the Practical Pre-School Award 2007 and the Red House Children's Book of the Year Award 2008, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Her collection of titles beginning with Hello Tilly have been made into an animated series, Tilly and Friends, currently airing on CBeebies. Polly lives in Brighton, Sussex.