MARIANNA COPPO and her partner MARIO BELLINI are avid hikers who reside in Rome, Italy. Marianna is an author and illustrator who studied editorial illustration at MiMaster in Milan and now focuses on freelance illustration. Her debut picture book, Petra, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She is also the creator of Ray, A Very Late Story, Such a Good Boy and, with author Daisy Bird, Whose Poo?. Her most recent book is Thingamabob.