Jeannie Baker
BornJeannie Baker
1950 (age 73–74)
Croydon, London, England
OccupationArtist, author, film maker
NationalityEnglish
Australian
Period1975–present
GenreCollage constructions and children's picture books
Website
www.jeanniebaker.com

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[1] on 2 November 1950. She studied graphic design at Croydon School of Art and Brighton Polytechnic, earning honours in art and design, before making her home in Australia in 1975.[1] In the early 1980s, she lived in New York on an Australia Council Visual Arts Board residency.[1] Her book, Home in the Sky (1984), was developed there.[1]

Baker developed the illustrations for her first book, Grandfather, during her final year at Brighton College of Art.[2]

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".[3] 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.[4]

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), a Boston Globe-Horn Honour Book, and the recipient of an International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Award and a Friends of the Earth Award in Great Britain. Window was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in Great Britain and both Window and Mirror won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award.[5] Baker was the IBBY Australian nominee for the prestigious 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration.[6]

Her work focuses on a diverse range of issues including: family, society, sustainability, the environment, car-free urban spaces, urban sprawl, land degradation, a sense of wonder, nature deficit disorder, introduced pests, Australian outback and wildlife.

Baker was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2021[7] and again in 2022.[8]

Works

  • Polar (1975)
  • Grandfather (1977)
  • Grandmother (1978)[1]
  • Millicent (1980)
  • One Hungry Spider (1982)
  • Home in the Sky (1984)
  • Where the Forest Meets the Sea (1988)[1] (also released in big book format)
  • Window (1991)[1] (also released in big book format)
  • The Story of Rosy Dock (1995)[1]
  • 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)[9]
  • Desert Jungle (2023)[10]

Exhibitions

Australian National Maritime Museum (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 (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
  • Desert Jungle - Another travelling exhibition organised by the Penrith Regional Gallery. [11][12]
Penrith Performing and Visual Arts Gallery - 6 May – 9 July 2023
State Library of South Australia (Adelaide) - 15 December 2023 - 18 February 2024 [13]
Shoalhaven Regional Art Gallery (Nowra) - 9 March – 4 May 2024
Royal Botanic Gardens (Sydney) - 18 May – 29 June 2024

Film

  • Where the Forest Meets the Sea (10-minute, 35mm animated film, produced by Screen Australia, 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[14]
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[1]
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[1]
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 Notable Book 1984
Kate Greenaway Medal 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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Scobie, Susan, ed. (1997). The Dromkeen Book of Australian Children's Illustrators. Scholastic Australia. pp. 22–25. ISBN 1863886958.
  2. ↑ McCartney, Tania. "Chatting with Author and Artist Jeannie Baker". Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Candlewick Studio - Baker, Jeannie". Candlewick Studio. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Morris, Linda (30 May 2016). "Interview: Children's author Jeannie Baker follows an endangered bird's path". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "CBCA". www.cbca.org.au. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "News - Australian Society of Authors (ASA)". www.asauthors.org. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Nominees for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2021". Mynewsdesk. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Australians nominated for 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award". Books+Publishing. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Award-winning children's book author and collage artist wants kids to stop copying, start experimenting". www.abc.net.au. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  10. ↑ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jeannie-baker/desert-jungle/
  11. ↑ https://www.penrithregionalgallery.com.au/events/jeannie-baker-desert-jungle/
  12. ↑ https://www.jeanniebaker.com/exhibitions/
  13. ↑ https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/events/desert-jungle
  14. ↑ "Shortlist for the 2011 NSW Premier's Literacy Awards". Copyright Agency. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
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