Matt Oldfield grew up in Southampton, playing football with his brother Tom.

The two brothers are the authors of the bestselling Ultimate Football Heroes series – fun football biographies that tell the exciting life stories of superstars like Gareth Bale, Lionel Messi and Mo Salah, from the playground through to the pitch.

The Johnny Ball books are Matt's first fiction series. He lives in North London.

Alex Patrick was born in the Kentish town of Dartford in the South-East of England and has been drawing for as long as he can remember. His lifelong love for cartoons, picture books and comics has shaped him into the passionate children's illustrator he is today. Alex loves creating original characters - he brings an element of fun and humour to each of his illustrations and is often found laughing to himself as he draws.