Biographical note

I am Jill Atkins, an escaped teacher, now writing for children with 46 books published so far, ranging from early reading material to teenage novels. I'm married with two grown-up children and five grandchildren, no pets, though I used to have three beautiful cats, guinea pigs and rabbits. When I was a child, we kept chickens and I loved them, too. I always have my nose in a book. I read both adult's and children's books. My favourite children's books include The Railway Children by E Nesbit, Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson, River on the Say by Philippa Pearce. My adult reading varies from Charles Dickens to many modern authors. I enjoy listening to music, classical, jazz and some pop. Lisa Williams decided to be an illustrator while she was still in primary school. She has been illustrating children's books, magazines and educational material for over 25 years. She has worked with a large number of publishers and also directly with many authors - she loves to create something special and memorable for them by including small personal details in the images that the reader might not be aware of! Lisa often adapts her style to suit the requirements of the project, which has given her the opportunity to develop a wide array of illustration styles.