Nicola Davies graduated with a degree in zoology before becoming a writer, producer, and presenter of radio and television programmes. Her books for children include the novel Home and many acclaimed non-fiction titles such as Big Blue Whale and Surprising Sharks. Neal Layton has illustrated more than forty books including Rover and its sequel, Howler, by Michael Rosen, and Wicked Poems by Roger McGough. He has also illustrated his own stories, Oscar and Arabella and Bartholomew and the Bug, both of which have won the Smarties Book Prize Bronze Award.