Best known as the original illustrator of Enid Blyton's books, Eileen Soper was particularly fond of depicting children and animals. She was born in Enfield, Middlesex, and then moved to Hertfordshire where her artist father, George, created a wildlife sanctuary in their garden. Soper sketched many of the animals living there, including deer and badgers, and made etchings and engravings from an early age. She also wrote several books for children and produced a series of natural history books.

This sketch is taken from an early sketchbook of Soper's, found in her home The Wildings and comes through the Soper estate.