Ursula Moray Williams was born in Hampshire in 1911 and wrote nearly seventy books for children, several of which she illustrated herself. Her other popular titles include Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, which was named as one of Time Magazine's Books of the Year in 1938.

Catherine Rayner studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her young family and a small menagerie of creatures including Shannon the horse, Ena the cat and a goldfish called Richard, all of whom inspire her work. Catherine won the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years Awards for Augustus and His Smile and was awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for Harris Finds His Feet. Her other titles for Macmillan include the critically acclaimed Solomon Crocodile and the award-winning Smelly Louie.