Elizabeth Laird is a multi-award winning author of many successful picture books and young fiction. Her travels across the world have influenced her style of writing and choice of topics. She is well-known for tackling a wide range of global issues through her work. Elizabeth was born in New Zealand of Scottish parents, but grew up in London. During the 1990s Elizabeth travelled round Ethiopia collecting folk stories from traditional storytellers, and the British Council produced them in a series of readers for Ethiopian schools. Gloria's Porridge is her retelling of an Ethiopian folktale. Toby Newsome was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1975. He studied Graphic Design and started career as a freelance illustrator and book jacket designer. Now he mainly works on editorial and children's book illustration. He plays guitar - mostly finger-style folk music and lives in a very beautiful city, surrounded by the sea and a mountain. Toby loves hiking, and feels lucky that he can walk to the forest from his home. Toby's illustration style is colourful, Graphic, and whimsical. He loves pattern, so that often features in his work.