Cressida Cowell grew up in London and on a small island off the west coast of Scotland. She has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin''s and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton. Cressida has written and illustrated many books for children, including the bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series, now a major film property. She lives in London with her husband and three children.

Neal Layton was born in Chichester, West Sussex. He has worked on a lettuce farm, in a chocolate factory, a teapot factory, a book shop and has delivered newspapers. Neal has illustrated more than 40 books, working with award-winning authors such as Michael Rosen and Roger McGough. Oscar and Arabella, which he both wrote and illustrated, won him the Smarties prize in 2002. He lives in Portsmouth with his wife and their daughter.