When Martin Brown was little he loved drawing and he loved animals, particularly lesser-known animals, so it was only a question of time before he ended up drawing them.

Quite a lot of time ... In the meantime, he grew up, moved from Melbourne to England, and illustrated the phenomenally successful Horrible Histories series. Now, at last, it's time for the animals.

Travis Elborough has been a freelance writer, author and cultural commentator for more than a decade now.

His book include..The Bus We Loved, a history of the Routemaster bus;The Long Player Goodbye, a hymn to vinyl records; and..Wish You Were Here, a survey of the British beside the seaside...

Elborough is a regular contributor to the Observer and the Guardian but has written for the Times, Sunday Times, New Statesman, the Oldie, TATE etc.,

BBC History magazine and Kinfolk among others and frequently appears on BBC Radio 4 and Five Live.