Maree Coote is a writer, designer, illustrator, typographer and photographer. She is the author of two gold award-winning histories, The Melbourne Book and The Art of Being Melbourne , and is author/illustrator of 11 children's picture books, including Spellbound , Alphabet City Zoo , and The Black Pot Belly . Spellbound won the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Special Mention Prize in Italy 2017, the Nami Island Illustration 'Distinction' award in South Korea 2017, and is shortlisted for the CBCA 2017 prize in Australia.