Julia Catherine Donaldson is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which include The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She originally wrote songs for children's television but has concentrated on writing books since the words of one of her songs, "A Squash and a Squeeze", were made into a children's book in 1993. Of her 184 published works, 64 are widely available in bookshops. The remaining 120 are intended for school use and include her Songbirds phonic reading scheme, which is part of the Oxford University Press's Oxford Reading Tree.

Axel Scheffler is a German illustrator and animator based in London. He is best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, in particular The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, written by Julia Donaldson. He has also authored/illustrated the Pip and Posy series of books for children.