Rudyard Kipling was born in India in 1865. After intermittently moving between India and England during his early life, he settled in the latter in 1889, published his novel The Light That Failed in 1891 and married Caroline (Carrie) Balestier the following year.

They returned to her home in Brattleboro, Vermont, where Kipling wrote the two Jungle Books and Captains Courageous.

He continued to write prolifically and was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 but his later years were darkened by the death of his son John at the Battle of Loos in 1915. He died in 1936.

Robert Ingpen's illustrations evoke scenes of station life and convey Jim's excitement at the arrival of the new pedal radio. The flaps with their wonderful pencil sketches of the characters open up to reveal rich colour scenes.

Fascinating factual information at the back of the book explains how the pedal radio worked and how the Flying Doctor and the School of the Air developed as a result. A sister book to the award-winning Tea and Sugar Christmas, with the same author and illustrator.