NA'IMA B ROBERT is descended from Scottish Highlanders on her father's side and the Zulu people on her mother's side. She was born in Leeds, grew up in Zimbabwe and went to university in London. At high school, her loves included performing arts, public speaking and writing stories that shocked her teachers! She has written several multicultural books for children and is the author of 'From Somalia, with love', a novel for young adults. 'Boy vs Girl' is her second books for teens. She divides her time between London and Cairo and dreams of living on a farm with her own horses. Until then, she is happy to be a mum to her four children and keep reading and writing books that take her to a different world each time.

Valentina Cavallini was born and brought up in Milan, Italy. She studied Illustration at Chelsea School of Art and Design and the University of the West of England, Bristol, where she now lives. In 2007 her illustrations were chosen for the Bologna Book Fair Illustrators' Exhibition and toured Japan and Korea. Going to Mecca is Cavallini's first published picture book.