W. Michael Gear was born on May 20, 1955 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He received a master's degree in anthropology from Colorado State University in 1979. He married Kathleen O'Neal Gear in 1982, and they have collaborated on a series of books for young adults. The theme of these books is ancient civilizations, and the titles include People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Sea, and People of the Lakes. They own Wind River Archaeologist Consultants, which is a private research firm. He has also written several books by himself including the Forbidden Borders Trilogy, Morning River, and Dark Inheritance.Kathleen O'Neal Gear was born on October 29, 1954 in Tulare, California.… She received a B.A. from California State University in Bakersfield and a M.A. from California State University in Chico. She conducted Ph.D. studies at the University of California in Los Angeles and did post-graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. In the 1980's, she worked as the Wyoming state historian, and later as the archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska. She received the federal government's Special Achievement Award twice for outstanding management of our nation's cultural heritage. She married W. Michael Gear in 1982, and they have collaborated on a series of books for young adults. The theme of these books is ancient civilizations, and the titles include People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Sea, and People of the Lakes. They own Wind River Archaeologist Consultants, which is a private research firm. She has also written several books by herself including the Women of the West series.W. Michael Gear was born on May 20, 1955 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He received a master's degree in anthropology from Colorado State University in 1979. He married Kathleen O'Neal Gear in 1982, and they have collaborated on a series of books for young adults. The theme of these books is ancient civilizations, and the titles include People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Sea, and People of the Lakes. They own Wind River Archaeologist Consultants, which is a private research firm. He has also written several books by himself including the Forbidden Borders Trilogy, Morning River, and Dark Inheritance.Kathleen O'Neal Gear was born on October 29, 1954 in Tulare, California. She received a B.A. from California State University in Bakersfield and a M.A. from California State University in Chico. She conducted Ph.D. studies at the University of California in Los Angeles and did post-graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. In the 1980's, she worked as the Wyoming state historian, and later as the archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska. She received the federal government's Special Achievement Award twice for outstanding management of our nation's cultural heritage. She married W. Michael Gear in 1982, and they have collaborated on a series of books for young adults. The theme of these books is ancient civilizations, and the titles include People of the Wolf, People of the Fire, People of the Sea, and People of the Lakes. They own Wind River Archaeologist Consultants, which is a private research firm. She has also written several books by herself including the Women of the West series.Linda Newbery has published over 30 books, ranging from a picture book to teenage fiction. She won the Costa Children's Book of the Year Award in 2006 and, for CATCALL, the Silver Award in the 2007 Nestle awards. Born in Essex, Linda lives in an Oxfordshire village with her husband and three cats. Apart from writing, she spends time reading, gardening, swimming, going to the cinema and theatre, and walking. She is an active speaker at conferences and regularly conducts writing workshops. Visit her website at http://www.lindanewbery.co.uk and like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Newbery-author-page/159061854179521.
CATHERINE RAYNER studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with a small menagerie of creatures including Shannon the horse and Ena the cat, all of whom inspire her work. In 2006 Catherine won the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years Awards and in 2009 was awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. Catherine's books for Macmillan include the critically acclaimed Ernest and Solomon Crocodile -- both of which were shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal -- and Smelly Louie.