Allegra McEvedy (Author) Allegra McEvedy MBE is a highly respected chef, writer and broadcaster whose philosophy is that good food should be available to everyone. In 2004 she co-founded the multi-award winning healthy fast food chain LEON and recently re-opened Albertine, a wine bar/restaurant that her mother set up in the 70s. Allegra was a judge on CBBC's Junior Bake Off with Nadiya Husain, has presented several TV series across various channels and is a regular guest on BBC Radio London and Radio 4.She is a patron of the Fairtrade Foundation and a spokesperson for Compassion in World Farming.A longstanding fan of Enid Blyton since the age of 7, she has enjoyed revisiting Enid's complete works to give a proper account of food in Blyton's era.She lives with her two young daughters in West London, where they love getting creative and messy together in the kitchen. Mark Beech (Illustrator) Mark Beech was born in Pendle, Lancashire and loved to draw from an early age. His very popular work regularly includes scary dragons, wild dinosaurs, grumpy witches and many other whacky creatures.

He is the illustrator of all the Magic Faraway Tree books. Mark lives in the Forest of Bowland, where he enjoys walking with his dog Bungle.