Jules Verne (1828-1905) was born in Nantes, France. He was a prolific writer of adventure stories whose aim was 'to spread knowledge'. Writing in an era when travel was taking on a whole new course, the themes of time and exploration of foreign climes are often revisited in his work. Many of his over seventy books and plays have been made into movies and perhaps the best-loved isAround the World in Eighty Days.Robert Ingpen was born in 1936 in Geelong, Australia. He studied illustration art and book design at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 1986 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his contribution to children's literature and has been honoured with Membership of the Order of Australia. A world-renowned artist and author, he has designed, illustrated and written over 100 books. This series of classic works illustrated by Robert includesTreasure Island,Peter Pan andWendy,The Jungle Book,The Wind in the Willows andA Christmas Carol. Robert lives and works in Anglesea, near his home town of Geelong.