Like so many little girls, Maryann Macdonald once dreamed of being a dancer. Dance lessons were not on offer in her big family but paper was, so Maryann became a writer instead. She has written twenty-nine books for young readers, including The Little Dancers. She grew up near Detroit and lived for many years in France and England before making New York City her home. Mandy Sutcliffe loves illustrating children's books. Her inspiration comes from growing up in the countryside of Cheshire, England, with her pet rabbit that she often walked to school, as well as from the magical books she read as a child, and her twin boys and their friends. She lives in Bristol with her family, where she spends her days creating the idyllic worlds of the Belle & Boo books, now joined by The Little Dancers, and drinking far too many cups of tea.