Sam Baer (Author) Sam Baer grew up on the tiny island of Jersey before setting off on adventures in not-quite-so-tiny England. Since 2011, he's been writing books about everything from imps and elves to Victorian fashion. It's a dream job - almost as good as being a superhero.Andy Prentice (Author) Ever since he read the Spy's Guidebook when he was eight, Andy has wanted to write books for Usborne. He's very happy that he got to fulfill his dream. As well as writing books and stories for Usborne, Andy has published several fantasy novels about demons and dark magic. He likes playing board games and making up imaginary worlds.Rachel Firth (Author) Rachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels.Lara Bryan (Author) Lara has loved books since the days of being read bedtime stories by her Irish dad and French mum. At school she set up a secondhand bookshop called Books Change Lives, and went on to study English and Italian at Oxford University. After teaching in Italy and Myanmar, she got her dream job as a writer for Usborne Publishing. From explaining how economics works, to inventing boredom-busting activities, to telling a good dragon yarn, she's enjoyed every minute of the job.Matthew Oldham (Author) Matthew writes books for Usborne about all sorts of subjects, including history, science and Planet Earth. Before he did this, he studied English at university and worked for the BBC where he made funny radio programmes. In his spare time he likes to ride his bike, visit all kinds of museums and read on his sofa as much as possible.

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• Chapters in this book include:- Jack and the beanstalk- The magic bird- The one-inch prince- The billy goats Gruff- The brave little tailor- Hop-on-my-thumb- Theseus and the Minotaur- The giant princess- The princess and the ogre- The valley of diamonds