Rumer Godden was one of the UK's most distinguished authors. She wrote many well-known and much-loved books for both adults and children, including The Story of Holly & Ivy and The Dolls' House. Her children's novel The Diddakoi won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1972. She was awarded an OBE in 1993 and died in 1998, aged 90. Gary Blythe is an illustrator whose works include Miss Happiness and Miss Flower.