Born in London, Patrick Skene Catling was educated there and at Oberlin College in the United States. As a Royal Canadian Air Force navigator and as a journalist, he has traveled extensively. His present home is in the Republic of Ireland. The original appearance of The Chocolate Touch in 1952 stirred much reviewer enthusiasm. The New York Herald Tribune remarked, ""it has already proved a hilarious success with children,"" and The Saturday Review said, ""it is told with an engaging humor that boys and girls will instantly discover and approve.""