Julie Monks was born and grew up in Nottinghamshire. She spent her childhood drawing, together with her sister, the illustrator Lydia Monks. Julie went on to study illustration at Kingston University in Surrey and has since written and illustrated many children's books, including Snow White (Scholastic) written by Joyce Dunbar and Winter Magic (Scholastic), winner of the Best British Illustration Award in the picture book category, 2004. Julie now lives in Paris and divides her time between writing, illustrating and teaching in various art schools. This is her first book for Macmillan.