Lynley Dodd is New Zealand's best-known author and illustrator of children's picture books. Her stories are read and loved by children and adults worldwide, and she has won numerous prizes for her work. In 1999 Lynley received the Margaret Mahy Award, and in 2002 she was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours for her services to children's literature. In 2009 she was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Auckland.