Chris Riddell’s career flourished as soon as he completed his illustartion course at Brighton Polytechnic in 1984. Renowned for his political cartoons as much as for his book illustration, his witty line drawings feature regularly in The Observer in additon to other national papers. His picture book work has attracted several awards; Something Else by Kathryn Cave won the Unesco Award in 1997 and was shortlisted for both the Smarties Prize and the Kate Greenaway Medal. He was later to win these two prestigious awards in 2002 for the widely praised non-fiction Pirate Diary by Richard Platt. No less impressive are his black and white illustrations for Paul Stewart’s fantasy series Edge Chronicles which demonstrate the creative flair and meticulous attention to detail with which he has become associated.