Michael Morpurgo has an unparalleled reputation as a children's storyteller. He was Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005, has written over 100 books and is the winner of many awards, including the Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize, the Blue Peter Award and the Red House Children's Book Award.

His books are translated and read around the world and his hugely popular novel War Horse is now both a critically acclaimed stage play and a highly successful film. Michael and his wife, Clare, live in Devon.

Emma Chichester Clark is one of Britain's best loved children's authors and illustrators. She is the author of the immensely popular Blue Kangaroo series and many other books, and has illustrated books by Roald Dahl, Kevin Crossley-Holland, Peter Dickinson, Michael Morpurgo and, most recently, Quentin Blake.