The Detective Dog

Julia Donaldson is the author of some of the world’s best-loved children’s books, including modern classics The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child, which together have sold over 17 million copies worldwide, and the hugely successful What the Ladybird Heard adventures. Julia also writes fiction, including the Princess Mirror-Belle books illustrated by Lydia Monks, as well as poems, plays and songs – and her brilliant live shows are always in demand. She was Children’s Laureate 2011-13 and has been honoured with a CBE for Services to Literature. Julia and her husband Malcolm divide their time between West Sussex and Edinburgh.

Sara Ogilvie is an award-winning illustrator and printmaker who won the 2011 Booktrust Best New Illustrator Award. The first picture book that she illustrated, Dogs Don’t Do Ballet, was also shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. In addition to working on her picture books, Sara lectures in Illustration and Graphic Design at Northumbria University and continues to create work that is exhibited worldwide. She is inspired by many things including second-hand bookshops, old wives tales and trying to spell sounds. Sara lives in Newcastle upon Tyne.