I am an author and illustrator based in Brighton, England. I spent many fun-filled years working as a primary school teacher before studying for an MA in illustration at the University of Brighton. Now I spend my time writing and illustrating children's books. I live by the sea with my noisy husband and three noisy teenagers.

As a teacher, I have been making books of all shapes and sizes for many years, my favourites are the quickly crafted little books that capture the children's own words and pictures when they are just beginning to learn to read. The text and imagery in my books is designed to be accessible to all young readers, both new and more experienced.

I like to use collage to create my illustrations. In my bird collages I want to show the human side to birds, to hint at a sense of what they might be thinking, to imagine what they might be saying to each other, yet I also want to accurately represent each species. By cutting and sticking painted papers I can create individual bird characters which I can photograph and then combine and manipulate digitally.