Catherine Rayner studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her young family and a small menagerie of creatures including Shannon the horse, Ena the cat and a goldfish called Richard, all of whom inspire her work. Catherine won the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years Awards for Augustus and His Smile and has been awarded the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Catherine's other titles for Macmillan include the critically acclaimed Solomon and Mortimer and the award-winning Smelly Louie.