EIJA SUMNER has an M.F.A. from Hamline University in writing for children and young adults. While a student at Hamline, Eija received the T.A. Barron Fellowship for Excellence in Fantasy Writing, the Anne Tews Schwab Award for Excellence in Critical Writing and the Frances and Kermit Rudolf Scholarship Award. She lives in Idaho with her husband, three children, two cats and one red-eyed bunny. NICI GREGORY started illustrating whilst still in primary school, drawing in the margins of her exercise books. After studying graphic design in Hamburg, Germany, she went on to work as an in-house illustrator for a marketing firm in Sheffield. When she realized her work in the margins (mostly animals in fancy clothes) continued to be her favorite and best work, she decided to leave the world of marketing for a full-time career in creating animal characters for children. She has never looked back. Nici lives in Sheffield, England.