Jill BartonJill Barton left school at 16 but did not pursue her dream of becoming an illustrator because there were no courses specialising in illustration at the time. Later, when she was 44 and her children were grown, it was finally time for Jill to pursue hr dream. She began by taking a foundation course which inturn became a degree in illustration. She graduated at 48. She was short listed for the Macmillan Prize for Students in 1988 and Walker Books offered her first story, "Grape Zoo" just before her degree show. "The Pig in the Pond" was highly commended for the 1993 Kate Greenaway Medal and was also short listed for the 1993 Sheffield Children’s Book Award and the Scottish Arts Council Children’s Book Award. She won the Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 1997 for "In the Rain with Baby Duck" and "Rattletrap Car" was highly commended for the 2002 Sheffield Children’s Book Award. Read More Read Less