Hayley Barrett believes ants are beautiful, admirable creatures and she's just crazy about bees. She often transports roving insects back outside, and she thinks you should, too. Hayley lives near Boston, USA, with a fluffy Havanese named Quill. Her two terrific children have grown and flown, but they come home often for tea and cookies. You can learn more about Hayley and her books, including Babymoon, What Miss Mitchell Saw, and Girl Versus Squirrel, at HayleyBarrett.com.

A graduate in illustration from the London College of Printing, Alison Jay has been illustrating children's books for ten years. To create her unique style, she uses alkyd oil paint on paper with a crackling varnish, which gives her illustrations an antique, nostalgic quality. Alison lives and works in London, England.

"Alison Jay's oil and crackling varnish paintings are a joy to behold, adorable in their detail as they extend the narrative with period flair and cinematic touches" - Jama's Alphabet Soup

"I adore this book! Everything about it is perfection" - Books for MKs

"The complexity and rhythm of the text lend it more toward being read aloud to younger readers rather than independently. The illustrations are detailed, and unique in their preparation in alkyd oil paint on paper with crackling varnish. They create a rich and delightful backdrop to a quaint story about the power of friendship" - Youth Services Book Review

"A gorgeously illustrated rhyming story about friendship and helping each other" - Creative Steps Magazine

"This quaint story features sweet scenes as textured and iced as the baked goods themselves.... A grand addition to any library, gently demonstrating how we find friends where we least expect to" - School Library Journal