Brandi Dougherty is the author of the New York Times bestselling picture book The Littlest Pilgrim as well as its many sequels, and many other books for children, including The Valentine's Day Disaster and The Friendship Experiment . She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her family. Denise Hughes studied Fine Art at Winchester School of Art. Soon after graduating, she began her career in illustration. Denise's character-driven illustrations are created by a combination of hand-drawn elements, scanned photographs and digital textures, and are inspired by childhood memories, animals, and children. She is happiest when creating a new, fun character and can often be overheard giggling whilst drawing (or so her studio colleagues tell her!) Denise works from her shared studio at The Sorting Office in Eastleigh, Hampshire, England.