My Hand to Hold

Smriti Halls is a bestselling, award-winning children's author, published in more than 40 languages worldwide. Her best-loved stories include Rain Before Rainbows, I Love You Night and Day, and her acclaimed series with Steve Small, I'm Sticking With You. Smriti is a former Writer in Residence for BookTrust and is a patron for the School Library Association. South Indian by birth, British by nationality and London-loving at heart, she lives and works near Richmond Park with her husband and three sons.

Alison Friend's warm and whimsical artwork has appeared in both picture books and fiction. She studied Fine Art at university, and worked as a stonemason and greetings card illustrator before turning her hand to children's book illustration. Alison lives in the beautiful English Lake District with her husband Mike, her son Cal and Border Collie, Blue. In her spare time she enjoys drawing people's dogs, walking Blue in the fells, and falling asleep during really good films.