James Croft

Illustrator of a number of books for children, including Surprising Sharks, written by Nicola Davies.,Born in Yorkshire, James Croft graduated from Wolverhampton University. He now lives in Brighton with his wife, two children and several poorly kept plants. James mostly works with acrylic paint and chalk pastels, but often uses many other materials such as oil, ketchup, sand and rabbit's tears. James wrote and illustrated his first 3 books about cats, dogs and pigs which were published in 1999 by MQ Publications. Since then he has had over 20 books published around the world and in many languages. In 2003 James won the Boston Globe honours award for 'Surprising Sharks' published by Walker Books. This book was re-published in 2008 with an audio CD of a dramatic reading by Stephen Tomkinson. He has also worked for dozens of clients including: Nescafe, BBC, Times Newspaper, Channel Four, Saatchi &Saatchi, Persil, National Trust and Marks & Spencer.

Alison Croggon

An award-winning poet, playwright, and author of the fantasy series The Books of Pellinor.

Robert Crowther

One of the world's leading paper-engineers, his first book The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book is still an international bestseller.,Robert Crowther, a master paper engineer, first discovered the wonders of 3D illustration in art school. "I just loved the way things came alive when you did them in 3D. Particularly if something is flat, then it moves when you open it. It is the surprise element." The idea for ROBERT CROWTHER'S MOST AMAZING HIDE-AND-SEEK ALPHABET BOOK, which launched his career as a leader in the world of pop-ups, came while he was still in college. "This book took me about a year to do and five years to actually get published," he says. Robert Crowther has since gone on to create numerous acclaimed and astonishing pop-up books, and his pre-eminence in the field of pop-up art was recognized when he was named runner-up of the first Mother Goose Award in England. The detail that characterizes all Robert Crowther's books has its roots in his childhood, when he spent time drawing and painting landscapes that bustled with lots of characters. Ideas for his creations have since come from all over. For example, one day he visited a school and saw, tacked to a wall, a list of core curriculum subjects, which inspired ROBERT CROWTHER'S AMAZING POP-UP HOUSE OF INVENTIONS. He created another book in response to numerous inquiries from readers. "People were always asking 'Why don't you do a book that shows us how to make a pop-up?' I wasn't sure it would be technically possible, but I decided to try," he says. A veritable mine of information, ROBERT CROWTHER'S DEEP DOWN UNDERGROUND gives readers a behind-the-scenes peek at how each of the book's moving parts works. The pop-up artistry of Robert Crowther has found a niche among readers of all ages. Even the youngest of children are dazzled by COLORS, a book whose plain, bold pages burst open to reveal an intricate array of objects with the flip of a flap or the pull of a tab. SOCCER, Robert Crowther's seventh book for Candlewick Press, crowds in enough facts and stats to appeal to virtually any fan of the world's most popular game. Robert Crowther graduated from the Leeds College of Art, the Norwich School of Art, and the Royal College of Art before working as a freelance graphic designer for Madame Tussaud's, the London Planetarium, and several of its subsidiaries. Robert Crowther lives in Norfolk, England.

Jeff Cummins

A talented artist who has worked on a diverse range of projects including designing CD covers for Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello.

John M. Cusick