John Fardell has written several children's books, including the companion to The Flight of the Silver Turtle, The 7 Professors of the Far North. He was brought up near Bristol, England, with two sisters and a brother. They spent many hours in their dad's workshop, learning to make model planes and boats. John always enjoyed drawing inventions and making up comic strips. He also has great childhood memories of traveling to various islands off the west coast of Scotland for big family holidays. Since growing up, John has been all sorts of things--potato picker, toilet cleaner, care worker, drama student, film extra, door-to-door salesman, bartender, and viola player--but has mostly earned his living as a freelance cartoonist, illustrator, and occasional designer of puppet theater shows. His comic strips and cartoons have appeared in a wide variety of UK publications, including Viz, The List, The Independent, and The Herald. These days, he spends most of his working time writing and illustrating children's books. John lives with his wife and their two sons in Edinburgh, Scotland.