Philippa Pearce is the daughter of a miller and grew up in a mill near Cambridge. The house, the river and the village feature in many of her best-loved children's books. She was educated at the Perse Girls' School in Cambridge and then at Girton College, Cambridge, where she read English and History. In addition to writing a great many books, she has also worked as a scriptwriter-producer for the BBC, a children's book editor, a book reviewer, a lecturer, a storyteller and as a freelance writer for radio and newspapers. Her now classic books for Puffin include Carnegie Medal winner Tom's Midnight Garden, What the Neighbours Did and A Dog So Small. The Battle of Bubble and Squeak won the Whitbread Award.