Michael Foreman's favourite animals are frogs - he's got a whole pond-full in his garden.

Michael grew up during the Second World War, over-hearing the talk of soldiers and listening to the roar of aeroplane engines from his bedroom. He drew pictures of Spitfires and bombers or sporting personalities.

At school he was quiet but sporty and his childhood ambition was to be a footballer. His ideal day out nowadays is taking his sons to watch a Chelsea match.

After leaving art school Michael travelled all over the world making films and television commercials, and doing hundreds and hundreds of sketches. He's drawn oil rigs in the North Sea, reindeer herds in the Arctic Circle and kangaroos in Australia. These sketches inspired many of his books, from Panda's Puzzle to Myths and Legends from Many Parts of the World.

Michael writes his own stories as well as illustrating stories written by other people. More recently, since his own sons were born, Michael has been writing about his own childhood, answering the question, “What was it like, Dad, when you were little?” Michael loves writing about his past and he's also written about earlier periods of history - most notably the story of the soldiers of the First World War in War Game.

Michael's favourite place to relax is St Ives in Cornwall. He has a studio in the garden of his house there, where he works and watches the sea.