Neil Goddard works in education as a consultant in behaviour. In his spare time he also works with his partner, Elizabeth, on picture books, getting ideas from seeing children in action. They have three children aged between 7 and 26, and a young granddaughter. Neil describes NEVER USE A KNIFE AND FORK, his first picture book for Macmillan, as “an affectionate response to the ingenuity of our children in avoiding any semblance of table manners".