A Noisy Year

Julia Donaldson has written some of the world's best-loved children's books of the last 30 years, including bestselling modern classic The Gruffalo, which has been translated into over 100 languages and dialects, and its sequel The Gruffalo's Child. Her other books include Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale and The Highway Rat, all illustrated by Axel Scheffler, The Hospital Dog and Gozzle, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, and the hugely successful What the Ladybird Heard adventures, illustrated by Lydia Monks. Julia also writes fiction, including the Princess Mirror-Belle series, as well as poems, plays and songs - and her brilliant live shows are always in demand. She was the UK Children's Laureate 2011-13 and has been honoured with a CBE for Services to Literature. Julia lives in West Sussex.

Sharon King-Chai is an enormously talented designer and illustrator. Having grown up in Australia, she moved to London in 2003 and since then has brought her style and eye for beautiful design to album covers, book covers, stationery and her books including Starbird and the award-winning Animalphabet, a collaboration with Julia Donaldson. Sharon has a passion for innovation, and her artwork and clever use of paper engineering encourage the reader to think differently about the pages they hold in their hands.