Melissa Garside is a primary school teacher and certifiable word nerd, with a lifelong love of language. Her passion has led her to remote Japanese islands, ancient Roman baths and alpine fortresses, and has kindled a joy for writing children’s books. Melissa has a Masters of Applied Linguistics (TESOL), and when she isn’t teaching, she can be found dabbling in gardening, blogging and graphic design in the rural outskirts of Sydney with her family, two boisterous chooks and a golden retriever named Willow.

Lauren Mullinder is an illustrator, graphic designer, artist and educator. Based in her home studio in Adelaide, South Australia, Lauren spends her time illustrating children's books, exploring the natural world and developing workshops in art, drawing fundamentals and environment design.