He is the author/ illustrator of Explorers Wanted (Egmont 2003-05), a series of 10 books about how to explore in different parts of the world, with quizzes, historical information and easy-to-understand explanation of scientific principles. Explorers Wanted: At the North Pole was the winner of the 2005 Blue Peter award: ‘Best book with facts’.

In 2007, he has had two books for reluctant readers published by Barrington Stoke; The Land of Whizzing arrows and Death Leap. A third book, Snow Tigers is due out in 2008.

In addition to these books, Simon has also had numerous articles and illustrations published in magazines and newspapers in England and the US, including Wanderlust, BBC Wildlife and South American Explorer. He has written and recorded for BBC Radio 4, had video footage recorded on expedition in Brazil broadcast on the National Geographic channel and lectured on the organisation of jungle expeditions at the Royal Geographical Society of which he is a fellow.

Over the past few years Simon has made many rainforest/ wilderness expeditions. On his most recent trips, he has canoed the Armu River in Siberia looking for tigers (2003), crossed the Bolivian lowlands by horse, canoe and on foot (2005) and taken his family to the rainforest in Thailand (2006). For the Siberia and Bolivia trips he wrote a series of articles for the Times Educational Supplement and worked with Knowsley Education Authority (Merseyside) on interactive summer schools.

For regular work, Simon Chapman has taught Science/ Physics in a variety of high schools in the North West for nearly twenty years since graduating in Mechanical Engineering at Manchester University. He has headed a Science department in a high school and was a national ‘lead teacher’ in Applied Science. He is currently Head of Physics/ Applied Science at Morecambe High School, Lancashire.

Simon lives with his wife and 2 children in Lancaster. He is 42 years old.