Sally Murphy grew up loving books, babies and beaches, and nothing much has changed. Now she is grown up (though she tries hard not to be), she thinks a perfect day is one which involves reading, writing, walking or swimming at the beach, time with her six (also grown up) children, her grandchildren, and long-suffering husband.

When she isn’t doing these things, Sally is a university academic, teaching teachers how to teach

Gabriel Evans grew up in a country town next to a river. He was always drawing on scraps of paper and building inventions from his 1920’s Boy’s Book of Hobbies. His dream was to be a train driver with a blue hat, a circus master with a curly moustache, or an illustrator. At the age of 17, he became a children's book illustrator, and he hasn't stopped working since. Aspects of this book were inspired by Gabriel's rescue Border Collie who thinks she is bigger than she is.