Lydia Monks is a bestselling illustrator and author of children’s books. Among them are her many collaborations with author Julia Donaldson, including Sharing a Shell, The Singing Mermaid and the What the Ladybird Heard series which has sold over 4 million copies and has been translated into 25 languages worldwide.

Lydia has won many awards, including the Smarties Award, the Royal Mail Scottish Book Award, the Stockport Children’s Book Award, Nielsen Gold Bestseller Award, the Big Red Book Award, the Pan Mac Award and the IBBY Award for illustration.