Barbara Newhall Follett was an American child prodigy. Born in 1914, she published her first novel, The House Without Windows, aged twelve. One year later she published another, The Voyage of the Norman D., based on her own experiences sailing round Nova Scotia without her parents at thirteen years old. Barbara Newhall Follett walked out of her home with $30 in her pocket one evening shortly before Christmas 1939 and was never seen again.

The mystery of her disappearance has never been solved. Jackie Morris grew up in the Vale of Evesham, dreaming of becoming an artist and living by the sea. She has now created over forty children's books, including the bestselling and critically acclaimed modern classic The Lost Words, and her books have sold more than a million copies worldwide. Jackie lives in a cottage on the cliffs of Pembrokeshire, which she shares with a small pride of cats and various other gentle creatures.

Jackie Morris has illustrated several books for Barefoot Books, including The Greatest Gift and The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems. She lives and works in Pembrokeshire, Wales.