Nanette Newman has received considerable acclaim for her long and varied acting career in films, on stage and on television. She has also been successful as an author, particularly with her cookery books and many books for children. She has collaborated with illustrators such as Beryl Cook, and worked with Michael Foreman on several projects. She has previously contributed to the Pavillion Books collection Bedtime Stories along with Terry Jones. Beryl Cook has been an artist and illustrator for many years, and her work is loved and admired worldwide. Born in 1926 in Surrey, Beryl was one of four sisters. She had no formal art training, using her life experience as inspiration for her now famous pictures. She has been a showgirl, a shorthand typist, managed a pub, worked in a wholesale fruiterers and kept a boarding house. She married her childhood sweetheart John at the age of 20 and they are now grandparents themselves. She lives in Plymouth with her husband and an assortment of pets.