Jeannie Baker is an English-born Australian children's picture book author and artist, known for her collage illustrations and her concern for the natural environment. Her books have won many awards.

Biography

Baker was born in London, England on 2 November 1950. She studied graphic design at

Croydon School of Art Croydon College is a large further and higher education college located in Croydon, within the London Borough of Croydon. Its origins can be traced to a School of Art that was established in 1868, which subsequently merged with Croydon Polytechnic ...

and

Brighton Polytechnic The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achi ...

, earning honours in art and design, before making her home in Australia in 1975. In the early 1980s, she lived in New York on an Australia Council Visual Arts Board residency. Her book, ''Home in the Sky'' (1984), was developed there. Baker developed the illustrations for her first book, ''Grandfather,'' during her final year at Croydon School of Art. Baker uses a variety of textures in her works. "When I can, I like to use textures from the actual materials portrayed, such as bark, feathers, cracked paint, earth, knitted wool and rusty tin… so that their natural textures become an integral part of the work". Baker’s collages illustrate her picture books, but also stand individually as works of art. They are part of many public art collections and have been exhibited in galleries in London, New York and throughout Australia. Baker is the author-artist of a number of award-winning picture books. Among them is ''Where The Forest Meets the Sea'' (about the

Daintree Rainforest The Daintree Rainforest is a region on the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Mossman and Cairns. At around , the Daintree is a part of the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent. The Daintr ...

), a Boston Globe-Horn Honour Book, and the recipient of an

International Board of Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(IBBY) Honour Award and a

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split wi ...

Award in Great Britain. ''Window'' was shortlisted for the

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

in Great Britain and both ''Window'' and ''Mirror'' won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award. Baker was the

IBBY The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

Australian nominee for the prestigious 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration. Her work focuses on a diverse range of issues including: family, society,

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

, the environment, car-free

urban space An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious o ...

, introduced pests,

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

and wildlife. Baker was nominated for the

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award ( sv, Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2 ...

in 2021 and again in 2022.

Works

* ''Polar'' (1975) * ''Grandfather'' (1977) * ''Grandmother'' (1978) * ''Millicent'' (1980) * ''One Hungry Spider'' (1982) * ''Home in the Sky'' (1984) * ''Where the Forest Meets the Sea'' (1988) (also released in big book format) * ''Window'' (1991) (also released in big book format) * ''The Story of Rosy Dock'' (1995) * ''The Hidden Forest'' (2000) (also released in big book format) * ''Belonging'' (renamed ''Home'' in the United States) (2004) (also released in big book format) * ''Mirror'' (2010) * ''Circle'' (2016) (also released in big book format) * ''Playing with Collage'' (2019)

Exhibitions

* Works are held in permanent collections of The

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

(Sydney),

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maint ...

(Canberra),

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...

(Brisbane),

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

and Art Gallery Western Australia (Perth) * Circle - A travelling exhibition has been organised by Newcastle Museum in collaboration with Baker, which will follow the migratory path of the Godwits, visiting museums and galleries across

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and the world ::

Australian National Maritime Museum The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a national maritime museum wou ...

(Sydney) - 19 May – 31 July 2016 :: Newcastle Museum - 6 August – 30 October 2016 :: Canberra Museum & Gallery - 26 November – 19 February 2016/17 :: Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria (Melbourne) - 15 March – 14 May 2017 :: Botanic Gardens of South Australia (Adelaide) - 5 June – 25 August 2017 ::

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

(Hobart) - 7 September – 26 November 2017 :: Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens (Brisbane) - 11 December – 25 February 2017/18 :: Bundaberg Art Gallery - 7 March – 6 May 2018

Film

* ''Where the Forest Meets the Sea'' (10-minute, 35mm animated film, produced by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

, directed by Baker) * ''The Story of Rosy Dock'' (10-minute, 35mm animated film, produced by Screen Australia, directed by Baker)

Awards and nominations

* ''Circle'' :: Indie Award Best Children's Book 2017 :: Riverby Award Natural History Writing for Children 2017 :: Young Australians Best Book Award for Picture Books Shortlisted 2017 :: Kids Own Australian Literature Award for Picture Books Shortlisted 2017 :: Wilderness Society Award for Children's Picture Books Shortlisted 2017 :: Australian Book Industry Book of the Year for Younger Children Shortlisted 2017 * ''Mirror'' :: Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award Joint Winner 2011 :: Children’s Book Council of Australia Junior Judges Award - Picture Book of the Year Award Honour Book 2011 :: Indies (Independent Booksellers Association Awards) Children’s Book of the Year Winner 2011 :: NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature Shortlisted 2011 :: International Youth Library White Ravens Award 2011 :: Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards Children’s Book Category Shortlist 2011 :: British Book Design and Production Awards, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education Category Winner 2011 :: CJ Picture Book Awards, CJ Culture Foundation, Korea New Publications Category Finalist 2011 :: International School Libraries Network Singapore Red Dot Book Awards Shortlisted 2010-11 * ''Belonging'' :: The Wilderness Society Fiction Award for Children’s Books 2005 :: ALA Notable Book USA 2005 :: Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture book of the Year Honour Book 2005 * ''The Hidden Forest'' :: Australian Wilderness Society Fiction Award for Children’s Books 2001 :: Govern Award for Children’s Science Picture Books, USA Winner 2003 * ''The story of Rosy Dock'' :: Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture book of the Year Honour Book Award 1990 :: The Australian Wilderness Society Fiction Award for Children’s books 1996 :: The American Library Association Notable Book 1996 :: Australian Film Industry Award for Best Australian animated Film Finalist 1995 :: Gold medal for animation Palma international Film Festival 1995 * ''Window'' :: Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award 1992 :: Young Australian’s Best Book Award Picture Books 1992 :: Kate Greenaway medal UK Shortlisted 1992 :: Notable Book in the Field of Social Science USA 1992 * ''Where the Forest Meets the Sea'' :: Australian Children’s Book Council Picture Book of the Year Honour Book 1988 :: Young Australian’s Best Book Award Picture Books 1988 :: Earthworm Book Award Friends of the Earth UK 1988 :: Boston Globe Horn Book Magazine Honour Book Award 1990 :: International Board of Books for Young people Honour Book Award 1990 :: Austrian Children’s Book Council Honour Book award 1996 :: Australian Film Institute award for Best Australian Animated Film 1988 :: Greater Union Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animated Film 1988 * ''Home in the Sky'' :: The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

Notable Book 1984 ::

UK shortlisted 1985 :: Children’s book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award Commended 1985 :: Young Australian’s Best Book Award Shortlisted 1986.

References

External links

Jeannie Baker's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Jeannie 1950 births Living people English children's writers Australian children's writers British women children's writers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British women writers Children's non-fiction writers Writers from New South Wales 20th-century English women artists 20th-century Australian women artists 21st-century English women artists 21st-century Australian women artists Collage artists Women collage artists Australian children's book illustrators Australian conservationists British expatriates in Australia Alumni of the University of Brighton Australian animators Australian women animators