Mairi Mackinnon (Author) Mairi Mackinnon has lived in England, Scotland, France, Italy and Spain, and worked as a teacher, translator and tour manager before joining Usborne. Over the years she has written and edited Usborne books in sixteen languages, from Arabic to Welsh. She lives in a house full of teenagers, books and curious musical instruments.Sam Taplin (Author) Sam Taplin grew up in a beautiful valley in Yorkshire, where he dreamed of being a writer, and after three years reading other people's books at university he started writing his own for Usborne. He's been doing it ever since. When he's not writing about lonely rabbits or inquisitive bears, he likes doing card tricks, writing songs and playing long games of chess by the fire.