Robert Ingpen was born in 1936 in Geelong, Australia. He studied illustration art and book design at The Royal Melbourne Institue of Technology. In 1986 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his contribution to children's literature and he has been honoured with Membership of the Order of Australia. A world-renowned artist and author, Ingpen has designed, illustrated and written more than one hundred books. His work includes his highly acclaimed series of illustrated children's classics, a unique achievement by one illustrator, which have now been published in many editions around the world. Robert now lives and works in Barwon Heads, Australia, near his hometown of Geelong.