Ian Forsyth grew up immersed in the worlds of famous British children’s authors (Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Grahame, A.A. Milne, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Diana Wynne Jones, and Brian Jacques); and though American, feels that he’s captured some of their essence. On an extended trip to England, he visited East Sussex, home to Ashdown Forest: the landscape that greatly inspired A.A. Milne’s writing of Winnie-The-Pooh. Also in East Sussex, he stumbled across the village of Plumpton—which naturally inspired the would-be home of the Pigs Au Gratin. He has previously written books for adults, but this is his first novel for children. He lives in Portland, Oregon: a city of parks and trees, bike“riding, and long walks through residential neighborhoods with beautifully landscaped yards—not as quaint as the English countryside per se, but whimsical in a Pacific Northwestern way.