Bob Cattell conceived the Glory Gardens series while running the Bookboat, his floating children’s bookshop then moored on the Thames at Greenwich. Realising there were no books on cricket for children, he decided to write his own, so indulging his twin passions for sport and reading – and inspiring thousands of young fans.

Other titles for children followed: the Strikers football series with David Ross; Butter-Finger, a trilogy of books written with poet John Agard; and finally Bob’s Faustian take on cricketing obsession, Bowl Like the Devil.

For older cricket lovers Bob wrote First XI and Second XI, collections of diverse cricket-themed short stories from around the world.  

Away from sport, Bob and artist Michael Woods produced Reynard the Fox, a new translation of the mediaeval fable, and AGON, a selection of Greek myths, two strikingly illustrated books reflecting their shared interest in folk-history, myth and legend.

Bob loved watching sport, walking in the mountains, travel, reading, theatre, jazz and classical music.  Born in Wisbech, he returned to mountainless East Anglia to live near the sea in Suffolk.  Here he was inspired to write the stories that make up Under Suffolk Skies.