Dick King-Smith says, "Each time I sit down to write an animal story, I say to myself, 'What sort of animal?' and I answer, 'Pig!' Then I say, 'No, no, you've just done a pig story.' So I have to wait. And I have waited. And then along came Lady Lollipop!" Jill Barton left school at the age of sixteen and did all sorts of odd jobs until she married, had children, and stopped working outside the home. She attended art school and graduated at the age of forty-eight with a degree in illustration. Jill Barton has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, such as What Baby Wants by Phyllis Root, and the much-beloved In the Rain With Baby Duck; You're the Boss, Baby Duck!; Off to School, Baby Duck!; and Baby Duckand the Bad Eyeglasses, all written by Amy Hest.