Petr Horá cek was born in Prague and studied at the Academy of Fine Art. He moved to the UK in 1994 and his first picture books were published in 2001. His other books for Otter-Barry Books are The Last Tiger, The Perfect Present, nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration and Blue Monster. Nicola Davies is the author of more than 80 books for children and young people, including poetry, non-fiction, picture books and novels. Her work has been published in more than 10 different languages and won awards in the UK, US, Europe and Asia. Her picture book The Promise (with Laura Carlin) was one of the New York Times' picture books of the year. The Day War Came (with Rebecca Cobb) sparked an online campaign, ' 3000 chairs', in support of unaccompanied child refugees. The Star Whale is her third collaboration with Petr Horá cek.