Favourite childhood book? 

 So very many of them! I will choose one today... another day it could be entirely different. Today it's... My Side Of The Mountain by Jean Craighead George. All about Sam Gribley who runs away to live on his wits in the mountains, with just a book on survival for company. It's got lots of brilliant info and little sketches and it's absolutely gripping. He builds a den in a hollow tree and captures a peregrine falcon chick and rears it, teaching it to hunt for him. My Shapeshifter series was really influenced by this story which was a class reader when I was about eight or nine. 

Favourite book right now? 

Trash by Andy Mulligan. It follows the life and death adventures of kids who work the rubbish tips in Brazil. They find a wallet - and in the wallet is something the authorities want to get back - at any cost. Brilliant, brilliant book!

Favourite lesson at school? 

Art. I had a great Art teacher called Harry Tucker, who I used to talk to, while I painted or drew, about life, the universe and everything. He's written into my Shapeshifter series.  

Favourite animal/lifeform? 

My labradoodle, Willow, of course. But in the wild, a fox. No question.

Favourite hero/heroine?  

Wildlife presenter, author, photographer and film-maker Chris Packham. We went to the same school (although I'm quite a few years younger so not at the same time) and know each other from when we both worked in regional BBC broadcasting. Chris campaigns tirelessly for wildlife and the planet and he's also a really genuine, funny, decent bloke. And even though he's massively in demand these days, he still returns my occasional emails. He's written a foreword for one of my books and advised me on the life of foxes for my first series.