Jane studied English at Exeter and Art History at York. She has worked on various Usborne dictionaries, encyclopaedias and learning books, and her edition of the Usborne Illustrated Dictionary was awarded a prize for a significant contribution to children's literacy. She has two sons and three stepsons who are now scattered across the globe. She gets a huge thrill from seeing her books on sale when she travels to the USA and Australia. Marta Cabrol was born near Barcelona in 1976. She was very lucky to have a mother who worked in the library where she spent many hours reading lots of books. This was an important influence on her because it helped create a special sensibility to the world of images. Now for her own illustrations, she combines the children's world of imagination, storytelling, and reading, which have always been an important part of her life.