Eighteen Summers

Penny Harrison is a children's author, book reviewer, garden writer and lifestyle journalist. A professional writer for more than 20 years, she has contributed to a variety of leading magazines, newspapers, guides and books, writing about everything from raising toddlers to raising chickens. ​Penny grew up on a farm in central-western NSW and spent her days exploring the bush and planning treasure hunts with her four brothers and sisters. Nowadays, she lives in a rambling old garden in the Yarra Valley with her husband, two young children and an ever-growing menagerie of animals and plants. Leila Rudge was born in England and spent her first few years making mud pies with three sisters, two brothers and Jeni from number 15. Not long after completing an Illustration Degree at Bath Spa University, she jumped on a plane to Australia in search of the sunshine. In 2009, she illustrated her first children’s book, Duck for a Day, which was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Award - Younger Reader’s category. No Bears, her second collaboration with Meg McKinlay also was on the shortlist in the Picture Book of the Year and Early Childhood categories of the 2012 CBCA awards. Leila's artwork is a mixture of pencil, paint, and paper which is all hand-snipped and glued onto watercolour paper. She loves adding collage to her illustrations and often spends far too long searching through magazines for the perfect colours and patterns.

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