Richard Monte is a children's book reviewer and former bookseller who has contributed articles on Poland to the BBC and other magazines. He is married to a Polish wife. He lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire.www.richardmonte.co.ukPaul Hess was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1961. He went to art college in Sydney and then worked as a graphic designer and Art Director for various companies both in Sydney and London from 1981 to 1991.

He has worked as a freelance art director and illustrator since then. His books for Frances Lincoln are Death in a Nut, Nail Soup, Cow on the Roof, Dragon of Krakow, Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe, The King with Horse's Ears and The King and the Seed. He lives in Northumberland.