Author and illustrator Catherine Rayner grew up in the country in West Yorkshire. She has drawn animals ever since she could hold a pencil and her first pictures usually featured their family dog; a miniature dachshund named Wilfred. Catherine's love of drawing never faded and after school she moved to Scotland to study Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her husband, two young sons, and a handful of creatures including Shannon the horse, Ena the gray cat, and a guinea pig.