Biographical note

Smriti Halls is an award-winning, internationally bestselling children’s author whose books include Rain Before Rainbows, illustrated by David Litchfield, Not That Pet!, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw and Welcome to Your World, illustrated by Jaime Kim. She is published in more than 25 languages. Her stories are always full of heart and speak to the child in all of us. Smriti was BookTrust's Writer in Residence from September 2020 to March 2021. She lives and works in London with her husband and three sons. Find Smriti online at smriti.co.uk, on Twitter as @smritiph and on Instagram as @smriti_halls_author.

David Litchfield started to draw when he was very young, creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones "mash up" comics for his brother and sister. Since then, David’s work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and on T-shirts. His first author-illustrator picture book The Bear & the Piano won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2016. He is the illustrator of Rain Before Rainbows, written by Smriti Halls, and has illustrated picture books for Ross Montgomery, Andy Stanton and Sally Lloyd-Jones, and created book covers for David Almond, Kate DiCamillo, Neil Patrick Harris and many more. David lives with his family in Bedford. Find him online at davidlitchfieldillustration.com, on Twitter as @dc_litchfield and on Instagram as @david_c_litchfield.