Biographical note

Sam McBratney (1943-2020) was the author of one of the world’s best loved and bestselling picture books, Guess How Much I Love You. Sam won the Bass Ireland Arts Prize, the ABBY Award (USA), the Sliveren Griffel (Netherlands) and the Bisto Award, twice. He also wrote the bestselling You’re All My Favourites and the follow-up to Guess How Much I Love You, Will You Be My Friend?, and many other books for children. Now considered a children’s book classic, Guess How Much I Love You has sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and been translated into 57 languages. The phrase “I love you to the moon and back” has itself taken on iconic stature, and the book is considered an essential title for any nursery, preschool, or library bookshelf. Anita Jeram was born and brought up in Portsmouth, England. She worked in a variety of jobs after leaving school before doing a foundation course in Visual Studies at Manchester Polytechnic, followed by a degree course in illustration. Her first book, Bill’s Belly Button, was published a year after she graduated. Anita’s tender and warm watercolour artwork for Guess How Much I Love You was shortlisted for the 1994 Kurt Maschler Award. Anita is married to a palaeontologist and has three adult children and a menagerie of animals. She lives in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Three decades after she first painted the Nutbrown Hares, she is still creating stunning Guess How Much I Love You books, as well as art for a whole range of beautiful licensed merchandise. Anita is also the highly acclaimed illustrator of You're All My Favourites, Will You Be My Friend? and I Love My Little Storybook, which she also wrote, and Skip to the Loo, My Darling! written by Sally Lloyd-Jones.