Shelly grew up in a tiny English village where she was surrounded by animals, the occasional pixie fairy and her best friend Cracker, a feisty palomino pony.

She was the middle child of three, but also had eleven foster siblings (not all at the same time!). Shelly studied teaching and biology at university in Birmingham and moved to Australia in 2002, where she has since married an Aussie with two beautiful kids and added another two to the brood.

She plays with words all week long and loves that she can call it 'work'.

Jedda Robaard grew up in a small town on the island of Tasmania and now lives on the coast of Victoria with her husband, children and a variety of pets.

Jedda trained as a graphic designer, the manual cut and paste way, and ran children's art and craft workshops for many years. The interaction with her young students, a passion for her craft as well as family life and a discerning eye for the innocuous but evocative little moments in life all contribute to her page-turning, whimsical and imaginative illustrations and stories for children.

Jedda's books have been published in many languages including English, French, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Korean and Chinese.