Hippo's Birthday - Independent Reading Green 5

I am Jill Atkins, an escaped teacher, now writing for children with 46 books published so far, ranging from early reading material to teenage novels. I'm married with two grown-up children and five grandchildren, no pets, though I used to have three beautiful cats, guinea pigs and rabbits. When I was a child, we kept chickens and I loved them, too. I always have my nose in a book. I read both adult's and children's books.
My favourite children's books include The Railway Children by E Nesbit, Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson, River on the Say by Philippa Pearce. My adult reading varies from Charles Dickens to many modern authors. I enjoy listening to music, classical, jazz and some pop. Steve Cox is an award-winning illustrator. He studied Graphic Design at Cornwall College of Art, graduating with a distinction, before moving to a successful career in toy packaging and children's TV character merchandising.
Properties he worked on include Roland Rat and Count Duckula. He later returned to full-time illustration and has been involved in many different projects from simple board books to complex and detailed pop-ups. His first picture book, 'Pigs Might Fly', written by Jonathan Emmett, won the 'Books For Younger Children' category of the Red House Children's Book Award. He lives in Bath.