Leah Mohammed lives in Surrey, UK, with her daughter. Her books are inspired by her British-Pakistani heritage and by the kinds of story she would have loved to read as a girl, featuring children having magical adventures. Loretta originally trained as a dancer, then managed a conservation charity on Hampstead Heath for many years - battling brambles by day, and practising her drawing skills by night. A self-taught artist, Loretta won the Waterstone's 'Picture This' competition in 2011 and has since illustrated picture books and fiction titles for publishers. She lives in North London at the top of a tall grey building with her husband and pet hamster. She occasionally escapes to go galloping around Hampstead Heath, swimming in the ponds, or noodling for fossils. One day she hopes to live beside the seaside with a garden full of chickens and guinea pigs.

''Warm, sweet wish-fulfilment, with cute illustrations perfectly pitched for 6-plus'' Guardian

Leah Mohammed lives in Surrey, UK, with her daughter. Her books are inspired by her British-Pakistani heritage and by the kinds of story she would have loved to read as a girl, featuring children having magical adventures. Loretta originally trained as a dancer, then managed a conservation charity on Hampstead Heath for many years - battling brambles by day, and practising her drawing skills by night. A self-taught artist, Loretta won the Waterstone's 'Picture This' competition in 2011 and has since illustrated picture books and fiction titles for publishers. She lives in North London at the top of a tall grey building with her husband and pet hamster. She occasionally escapes to go galloping around Hampstead Heath, swimming in the ponds, or noodling for fossils. One day she hopes to live beside the seaside with a garden full of chickens and guinea pigs.

''Warm, sweet wish-fulfilment, with cute illustrations perfectly pitched for 6-plus'' Guardian