Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Growing up in Ipswich, England, Helen Oxenbury loved nothing more than drawing. As a teenager, she entered art school and basked in the pleasure of drawing, and nothing but drawing, all day. During vacations she helped out at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre workshop, mixing paints for set designers. It was there that she decided her future lay in theatre design. Sets and scenery, not books, remained Helen's preoccupation for her early adult life as she embarked on careers in theatre, film, and TV. After marrying John Burningham, another of the world's most eminent children's book illustrators, and giving birth to their first child, at last she turned to illustrating children's books. Today, Helen is among the most popular and critically acclaimed illustrators of her time. Her numerous books for children include the Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; Smarties Book Prize-winning Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell; We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen; as well as her classic board books for babies.

Mem Fox has written more than 40 books for children, including the bestselling and much-loved picture books Possum Magic and Where is the Green Sheep? Other books by Mem include Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Hunwick’s Egg, Hello Baby!, A Giraffe in the Bath, Koala Lou, Baby Bedtime and Roly Poly. In 2019, The Tiny Star was released to great critical acclaim from the Australian Book Industry, and March 2021 saw the release of another new picture book, Early One Morning. Mem has been presented with an array of book awards, and was awarded an AM for services to the cultural life of Australia in 1993. Mem lives in Adelaide and is a retired Associate Professor of Literacy Studies from Flinders University, South Australia.