Send for a Superhero

Michael J. Rosen is an acclaimed author, editor and illustrator of some forty books for both adults and young people. Many are inspired by his lifelong experience with animals; he studied Zoology at university, has worked as a dog trainer and founded a granting programme to support animal welfare organizations. He says of ChaseR, When I moved from the major city where I’d lived most of my life to a rural community, the changes were monumental. And I often thought, What if I hadn’t actually chosen to live here? I wrote this novel not only to imagine this new way of life from a teenage point of view, but also to consider the complicated (and always teetering) balance we try to achieve, living, as we all do, amid an ever-diminishing natural world. Michael J. Rosen lives in Ohio, USA.

Katharine McEwen studied Illustration at Kingston University and then spent two years in France as an artist in residence. She soon returned to England, and her big break came with the offer to illustrate The Man Who Wore All His Clothes by Alan Ahlberg. Katharine’s colourful and characterful style is an instant winner – children love her animal cast of characters and the peculiarly human qualities they possess.