Julia Jarman has won the Stockport Schools' Book Award twice for her brilliant picture book texts! After studying English and Drama at Manchester University, she became a teacher. Julia has been writing for over fifteen years and in that time has written ten novels and over seventy shorter books. Initially, she was encouraged to write by her three children who asked for 'real characters like us', with the girls asking for 'lots of scary bits.' Recently, she has become a grandmother, inspiring her to write her fabulous picture book texts. She has also been influenced by her three cats! Julia keeps in touch with readers through her numerous visits to schools and libraries where she enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for facts and fiction. For more information on Julia Jarman visit her happy zappy website www.juliajarman.com Julia lives in an English village near Bedford.