Audio transcript

Between the bookshelves – 10. Jess Racklyeft

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ANNOUNCER: Listen @ The Arts Unit.

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JADE ARNOLD: The Arts Unit recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples and storytellers of this place, now known as Australia. We are grateful for the continuing care of Country, waterways and skies where we listen, read and learn.

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You're listening to 'Between the bookshelves', the official podcast of the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge. I'm your host, Jade Arnold, the Premier's Program Officer, Reading and Spelling, at the Arts Unit. Join me as I chat with children's and young adult authors and other experts in education in children's fiction as we talk about the books and the strategies that may spark or reignite a love of reading. Let's dive in!

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Welcome to episode 10 of 'Between the bookshelves'. I'm joined today by the incredibly talented Jess Racklyeft, an award-winning author and illustrator whose beautiful, nature-rich artworks have captured the imaginations of readers all over Australia. Jess is best known for her dreamy, layered watercolours and her work on beloved titles like 'Iceberg', 'Tree' and 'Volcano', which were written by Claire Saxby, as well as her own author-illustrated picture books, like 'There's Only One Mum Like You', 'Australia: Country of Colour', 'Big Cat' and many more.

Her books have received numerous accolades, including the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award, and they're firm favourites in classrooms, libraries and reading nooks across the country. And if her artwork looks familiar beyond the bookshelf, it might be because Jess was also the illustrator of last year's official CBCA Book Week poster. Jess, thank you so much for joining me. How are you?

JESS RACKLYEFT: I'm good. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

JADE ARNOLD: Let's start with some quick-fire questions to get to know you a little better. Just go with your first instinct. You can elaborate on them if you wish. What is your go-to art supply that you always have on hand?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Well, as you mentioned in your intro, I am a big fan of watercolours, so that would probably be my favourite. And brushes. And it's always just such a treat to go to the art shop and wander around and find new stuff.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, amazing. If you could illustrate the story of any Australian animal that you haven't yet worked with, which one would you pick?

JESS RACKLYEFT: That's a great question. I'm originally from Perth, and I do have a very fond soft spot for quokkas. So, maybe a quokka book would be great, but pretty much any animal, I enjoy painting it.

JADE ARNOLD: I think those quokkas would be absolutely adorable, illustrated by you. I hope there's one in the future. [laughs]

JESS RACKLYEFT: We'll see. We'll see.

JADE ARNOLD: If you could magically illustrate one book from your childhood, what would it be?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Oh, such good questions. Well, I was a big reader. I loved Roald Dahl. And then as I got older, I got really into fantasy books. But yeah, maybe something magical, Roald Dahl-esque.

'James and the Giant Peach' would be good, but pretty much any of his books would be great. I mean, they're obviously quite big books to be illustrating a lot of, but I don't know if there has been fully-illustrated Roald Dahl books. I reckon that would be pretty amazing, actually.

JADE ARNOLD: And it'd be such an interesting take to see your illustrations in those titles.

JESS RACKLYEFT: That would be great fun.

JADE ARNOLD: [laughs] When you're not drawing or painting, what do you love to do to recharge?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Well, we just bought our first property out of Melbourne. So, it's a really amazing spot, and it's surrounded by trees and birds. So, if you sit on the deck, you can just see probably about 20 different types of birds in 20 minutes. So, that's my favourite thing to do with a cup of tea. It's joyous.

JADE ARNOLD: That sounds absolutely beautiful. I'm a little jealous. [laughs]

JESS RACKLYEFT: [laughs] It is pretty deluxe. I'm pretty blown away with it, and just the fresh air and getting out. I love Melbourne, but it is always just so great to get away.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, absolutely. Now, in our last episode, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Claire Saxby, and we spoke about some of the incredible books that you have created together. I'd love to hear your perspective as the illustrator on these collaborations, and of course, your own 'between the bookshelves' pitch for them. Let's start with 'Iceberg', the CBCA Picture Book of the Year. How did you approach this really stunning and layered story visually, and how would you pitch it to a reader browsing the shelves and thinking about picking it up?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so when they contacted me to tell me that I had the job to work with Claire Saxby, I was actually quite surprised and extremely nervous because I usually do books that are for younger kids, simpler language. And when I read the text, I just thought it was so beautiful. But I knew it was obviously very scientific, and it was going to be a really challenging book for me.

So, in terms of the visual language, I first was freaked out. And then I had a lot of fun researching Antarctica. And Claire had done a lot of research, which she shared, thankfully, but then also watching documentaries and watching things live and how they move. So, watching icebergs calving, and the look of ice falling into the water, how that looks. So, I was doing a lot of research and then just got drawing.

And it was a lot of give and take with the editor, Claire. We were all working really closely on it. And we talked about how to get across this lead character, which was an iceberg, which is also very unusual. Instead of being a human or maybe an animal character, we had an iceberg to focus on.

So, the first thing we did was make sure the iceberg was recognisable and stood out from the other characters in brackets. And I tried a few different techniques. In the end, we made it slightly brighter than the other ice formations, but I tried different techniques. At first, I tried it looking darker. We even tried drawing a slight face on it, which looked totally ridiculous. And I'm so glad we didn't go with that option. That was a silly idea.

And then we made the ice move from one side of the book to the other. So, if you look at each spread, the iceberg slowly travels across. So, you can keep an eye on the character.

And then the other thing that explained, I guess, the meaning of the book and the changing seasons was changing the horizon line. So, it starts in the darkness, but you only have a small slice of the sky. And then each spread, the horizon line dropped down. So, when you got to summer, it had this big, open feeling. Yeah, so I think that was my main techniques.

And then I had a lot of fun. When you look closely, I thought ice was just a nice, big, white triangle. And then as I was researching, I got to know, and Claire's language, I got to realise that ice had all these really subtle formations in it, so I wanted the iceberg to look really textured. And I had really a fun time splattering things and scraping things and making monoprints and then scanning them all into my computer. And then I would layer watercolour, which is quite soft, with these really sharp textures. After a lot of experimentation, I was quite happy with the way that that looked.

And in terms of a pitch about maybe seeing it on a bookshelf, I would just say, I guess the book appeals. And I think the reason it did so well at the CBCA is, the language is just so beautifully poetic, but it's non-fiction, which I think is a bit of a magic combination. And then in terms of the art, I think there's a really lovely relationship between the words and the text.

In some books, the illustrator really needs to add and almost create a second meaning to the words. But in this one, it was actually more of a fun exploration of the environment and just really trying to convey the beauty and the extremely powerful nature world down there, which we can't exactly travel to easily to see in person. But through all this research, I think I got to a place where I feel like I captured the feeling of Antarctica.

JADE ARNOLD: It's so interesting to see how much research goes into not just writing the book with Claire's end, but on your end to make those images authentic and really convey the feeling of Antarctica, and as you were saying, bring focus to our main iceberg that we're following throughout the story. Yeah, that's really interesting. The next one I wanted to ask you about was 'Tree', which follows the life of a single tree over the seasons. How did you go about capturing its changing environment?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so I guess after doing 'Iceberg', which was all research-based and no in-person, it was really special to be able to go not that far from Melbourne into these mountain ash forests. And we had a really special day with a ranger there and just took so many photos and videos. And in the centre there where the ranger works from, they have all these stuffed animals, which is actually really quite a gift for an illustrator because online, you only have certain angles of animals, and you can't always find what you want.

But I could move around the animals in a 360, look at them from underneath, and on top, and that sort of thing. And then, yeah, just seeing these beautiful mountain ash-- I'm such a big fan of that wet environment, coming from dry Perth. The minute I got to Melbourne, and I saw even the Dandenong Ranges and the amazing tree ferns and things like that, I just love it so much. So, it was a really special time researching.

And then I have a few books on Victorian forests, and Claire lent me some again. So, I had lots of books to research from. I think image-wise, there's actually not that many great images of these trees, because they are only found in small territories in Victoria and Tasmania. So, there's not a huge array of photos or videos. But after spending that day in the forest and filling up my phone with images, I had lots of good references that I could use for the book and had a lot of fun changing the environment so extremely from icebergs into this really wet forest. It was really great fun to make.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, of course. And I feel like a field trip like that would be really important to get a sense of the scale of those trees, especially with the double-spread page in the middle of the book, where you've got that full height of the tree. I feel like that would be something that would be really hard to capture. Even if there was a lot of photos or videos of those types of trees, seeing it in person really helps you capture that massive scale.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Exactly. It makes such a big difference. And there is something magical about being in-person, because there's also that extra senses of the smells and the feeling of that environment.

And it's like, obviously, I can't convey that accurately back onto paper, but I feel like there's something that's transferred in that. I just feel like they're quite magical, those forests, and you can feel it in the air. And so, I was trying to put all sprinkles and little almost magical fairy lights in the background, because that's what it does feel like.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, yeah. It's so interesting how your artwork captures the feelings of what you experienced when you were there, and why that's such, I guess, an important part of bringing that book to life, is having that real illustrator's vision and feeling and, I guess, idea of what it should look like in relation to how it feels like.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, that's, I guess, the aim and the hope. And maybe sometimes it is successful, and other times it's not, but yeah. And I think back to, at the very beginning, I was saying how intimidated I was about Claire's text and me changing.

I think it's been really great fun to do these books because they're definitely a different style. They're still scrappy and loose, and sometimes I'm not doing them accurately. But they are-- in my head, they're a bit more technically close to the real thing. And yeah, I'm trying to convey some scientific information, but also that wordless feeling of being there.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, it's that really interesting blend of, it's really identifiably your artwork, but with a slightly different, I guess, tone to it.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so it's quite great fun for me because it is intimidating, but it's really good to get pushed and try something different.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, wonderful. 'Whisper on the Wind' Is this really rich title full of feeling and atmosphere. What was your approach to creating that real quiet magic in the illustrations? And was it a little bit different because this one was actually a narrative, as opposed to narrative non-fiction?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, it was quite different and, I guess, in some ways, a bit closer to my normal work, usually probably working with fiction. But then there was also another big challenge, which was, it was during extreme lockdowns in Melbourne. And I had 2 young kids trying to homeschool. One had just started prep.

And my husband's a teacher, so he was online all day with his students. So, it was a pretty horrific time. The first colour samples, I got the message from the editor and publisher that they were feeling dark and depressing. And I was like, well, I kind of understood why, because I was really struggling.

I used to have to get up at 4 am and do a few hours on this book in particular and then get the kids going and try and survive all that. So, then after I got that feedback, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, this really isn't feeling--' I didn't feel like I'd captured the magic of the words and the feeling that I wanted to give away. So, I called that the winter edition, and then I almost scrapped a lot of it.

And I redid a lot of it, and I called it the spring edition, because I was like, 'OK, that's it. I've got to really get back to the feeling of joy that I want to convey.' And it was actually quite, in a weird way, psychologically powerful or affirmative to know that I could lift myself out of this depressing time in some small way. Yeah, I was a lot happier with the second round, and then it got to a better place.

But yeah, again, the words were very powerful and magical, and that makes me want to do work that matches it at least. So, I had a lot of fun creating it. And some of those big scenes in there took a long time with all the different sea creatures. And Claire also likes throwing me lots of nice challenges, like painting the ocean at night is not an exactly easy task. So, that makes me have to change things and not do it in my typical sort of way. So, it was very, very challenging, I think.

If people have sometimes asked me, 'What has been your hardest book?' and I say 'That one', but it was not just what I was painting; it was the time of my life then. So, it was really tough. [laughs]

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, the Melbourne lockdowns were pretty horrific. And it's unsurprising that, I guess, it influenced your artwork in that way, but also so lovely to hear that it was something that eventually could pull you out of that really rough time.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, there's a lot of obviously different aspects of life then, but art is always so therapeutic. And the other thing I got into doing was doing massive paintings, abstract paintings, which I'd never done before. And I think that was just this burning, like, 'Ah, get me out of here,' in this tiny house with all the kids and everything. It was just so chaotic, so I just-- art was very therapeutic and helped me get through a tough time.

JADE ARNOLD: Oh, wonderful. And finally, your most recent title with Claire, 'Volcano', is this bold, dramatic book. How would you describe this book to young readers, and what was it like to illustrate something so powerful?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so for young readers, I would say, I had never heard of an underwater volcano before. And so, it's just such an incredible thing that, deep down in the ocean, in this pitch black, cold water, that magma and these rocks are getting made, and then these life forms that grow around it, which are only just starting to really be researched. So, I think for young readers, it's just incredibly interesting and also fun. Kids love volcanoes almost as much as dinosaurs. So, I think it's a combination of something we all know and is quite iconic with these really interesting, unknown building blocks, which is deep down in the ocean.

So, it was really, again, challenging because black oceans are very sparse. So, nothing happens for miles, and then these life forms start. So, it was very intimidating again.

The extra layer of difficulty for this one is that there's obviously not many photographs or images of volcanoes exploding underwater. So, I even was ordering some really obscure videos from 20 years ago. And then it was a DVD, and we didn't have a DVD player anymore. So, it was just really tough doing the research for it, but again, Claire had done a lot.

And every now and then, I'd ask her a question that she would normally know the answer. And I used all the information sources I could find. So, it was very hard. But once it got to the surface and things explode, it was just so much fun. And I had a really good time.

Again, something new, but I was-- each time, I tried to do the books quite differently. And for this one, I got sand from the playground. I got ink and rocks, and I would just go crazy making these textures, which I scanned and made into all these lava rocks. So, that was really fun.

And the explosions. I couldn't quite capture an explosion red with even watercolours, so I found digital colour was actually the best to capture that vibrancy. So, I had lots of fun combining all these different things. And it was more of a fun experiment than a hard thing to do, I guess.

JADE ARNOLD: Claire really likes, by the sounds of it, to give you some really tricky content to illustrate, doesn't she? [laughs]

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, she really does. She really does. I don't know if it's me or Claire. But I think-- yeah, I guess these are things that are usually not very known environments. So, there's a lot of background work before I get started, which is fun, but intimidating.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, well, you've done a wonderful job at capturing them. But the thing that I wanted to ask you next about is that a lot of people, when they think of your name, they would know you well as an illustrator. But you've also written and illustrated some absolutely beautiful books by yourself. So, can you tell me a little bit about what inspired you to write, and how that process differs when you're creating both the words and the pictures on your own?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so I think I never thought I was allowed to write as well because I didn't feel-- I don't know who gives you a writer's certificate or crown, but I had never received one. And I didn't feel like I could do it. But I do quite like an email banter with the publishers and editors, and one of them was like, 'You seem like you're quite a verbal-- you enjoy a bit of writing, so can you please write us some books about mums and dads and things like that?'

So, I was like, 'OK.' So, I got started on it. And I was very unsure of it, but I did it. And they were happy. And they got started, and they did really well.

And then-- I still feel very intimidated writing. And I've done lots of writing courses. And I treat it like I did with illustration, which was, it's something to learn and a craft that could take a long time.

But I think the next big, exciting challenge for me was writing non-fiction. So, I did this big book, 'Australia's Country of Colour', and that involved just so much research. So, each animal and plant, I had to spend a long time finding scientific papers on to write a few lines. And then we found out that we could barely fit-- I'd written about 5 sentences per animal or plant, and then we realised that only 2 would fit.

So, after 90 pages of writing, it got whittled down to a third of that. So, it was really a huge learning curve, but I think it was really affirming for me that that book has done well. And it's had some nice accolades, so I feel really proud. So, it's been really exciting that I feel my writers crown is slowly being passed over. And I'm getting more confident in it, but I still have a lot to learn.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah. Wow, wonderful. You've touched on some of the books that I wanted to talk about next, so thank you for that perfect segue there. Let's do some 'between the bookshelf' pitches.

So, let's imagine that we've got a young reader or the adult that's with them. They're standing between the bookshelves of their school library, public library, their bookshop, and they see your books there on the shelves. They're considering taking one of them home. What would you say to spark their curiosity for those first books that you were mentioning, 'There's Only One Mum Like You', 'There's Only One Dad Like You', 'There's Only One Grandma Like You'? How would you describe them to those young readers?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so, I'd say, they're very sweet books that hopefully encourage parents and kids to read together. I love that I was allowed to throw in every animal I could think of into the book, so there's not one character that is on every page. It's all broken down to animals. And I love doing animals as characters because I feel like anyone can relate, because it's not like the person has a certain skin tone or size or gender. It's just lovely to be able to put human characteristics into animal books. So, I think they're sweet and affirming for your relationships with your near and dear.

And I also did a book called 'There's Only One Friend Like You', which is also great for just kids learning to navigate their first playground relationships and that sort of thing, but talking about kindness, and being there for your friends, and working together, and that sort of thing. So, they're really lovely books.

JADE ARNOLD: That's beautiful. And I think those are fantastic books for young readers to pick up and really explore those relationships in this very beautifully illustrated and well-written little narrative. The other one that you mentioned was 'Australia: Country of Colour'. It's this really vibrant celebration of the seasons across our landscape. What inspired this book, and how would you describe that one to a curious reader?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, so that book was inspired because I knew, if I was going to do a bigger non-fiction book, that I would have to do lots of research. And I knew that I'm very easily distracted and get bored easily. So, I was trying to think of things that I really love. And obviously, I love colour and artwork, and I love travelling Australia, and I love nature. So, it was like, putting all that together felt like a really lovely framework to do all this research.

And then I think the reason the books have done so well is the unsaid hero of publishing, which is the designer. So, Kristy Lund-White was the designer for this book. So, for the first time-- usually, I do roughs, and then we work out where the words fit and that sort of thing. But Affirm Press kindly let me just jump straight into the colour illustrations, which I think gave me a freedom to just do them the best way I could think of, rather than making sure that they fit into the text.

But that made the work harder, I'm sure, for Kristy, because she got a certain amount of words and a certain amount of images, and she had to piece it all together, which just would have been such a painful process, I'm sure. But she did such a beautiful job. And when I wrote it and I drew it and I sent it all away, and when she sent it back, I was just like, 'Oh my god, it looks so beautiful,' and I really don't think it would have worked as it has without her talent.

So, I guess my pitch is that it's a beautiful combination of design and words and pictures to create a non-fiction book that's really quite accessible. None of the information is overwhelming. It's bit-sized bits of information. And hopefully it's quite fun.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, I think it is very fun, personally. [laughs] Another one that I wanted to ask you about was 'Big Cat', which is this book that's full of adventure and gentle surprises. What was the seed of the story, and how would you pitch that also to this young reader standing between the bookshelves?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Oh, thank you. I feel like that book didn't do well on the prize circuit, and it hasn't sold a huge amount, but I feel so proud of it. And I feel like it really is a special book.

So, I was really lucky to receive my first grant, and it's from the City of Melbourne, and they gave me access to the Arts and Heritage Collection, which is a secret bunker in the city. And they have several stories of old Melbourne treasures.

So, there's things like formal paintings of old mayors, and then there's things from the Olympics and just these treasures. And again, it was still lockdown. So, lots of books have come from lockdown.

But I wrote the book thinking about the pressures of being stuck in this very small environment in our home, and then in our 5-kilometre radius. But I was also trying to think of the positive side, which for us, was getting to know our neighbourhood a little bit differently. And this book is meant to encourage, hopefully, a look at wherever you live a little bit differently. And it's all about this big cat that helps this girl that lives in the city in a pretty linear way.

And then suddenly, the cat shakes up her experience of it, and she gets quite adventurous. And they go and find new things and new ways of moving through the world. So, it's a bit of a combination of all these pieces. An exploration of Melbourne, for sure, because there's lots of Arts and Heritage Collection pieces in the book, but also hopefully a book that encourages kids to get out there and go and explore their environments in new ways.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, wonderful. I think you touched on this when you mentioned that this wasn't really highlighted during the awards circuit. And every year, the CBCA book lists show us some fantastic stories. But obviously, awards can only show you so many, and there's still so many fantastic books to explore outside that award list. And just because it hasn't been nominated or hasn't made it onto a shortlist or anything like that doesn't mean that it's not a fantastic book to explore.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, totally. And I try and pass that message on to especially new creators that might feel quite heartbroken when they don't find their book on certain longlists and that sort of thing, because it doesn't reflect the talent or the work put into it at all. It's just, obviously, there's only a limited amount of places and judges that have their own likes and dislikes and that sort of thing. So, it's very common and easy to not make it, but it doesn't reflect the work and the amazing book that they've created.

JADE ARNOLD: I'd like to ask a few questions about your illustration process next, if that's OK. When you receive a manuscript, how do you begin visualising the story? What does that creative process look like, from the first read of the manuscript to the finished artwork?

JESS RACKLYEFT: The very first thing is just to read it, and often just read it again and again, and maybe just be forming some mental images. And then, depending on the book-- so for Claire's, I'd definitely be launching into research mode. But for other books that are fictional, I would just be thinking about the feeling that I get from the words and how I want to possibly turn that into images.

And then storyboarding. So, that's looking very scrappily on tiny, little boxes, but trying to work out the flow of the story visually. And then the next stage is creating roughs, which are black-line artworks that are very scrappy, but you can build a sense of where things are going to sit and where the words are going to sit. And then that will go back and forward with the editor or art director. And then once everyone's happy with the way the book's looking and feeling, then it'll be the artwork creation.

And I do try and try something new for every book. So, even though watercolours are my prime love and usually are in my books, I often try and have some experimental technique, so I'm not just relying on my stock, standard process. So, that's really fun.

Yeah, and then the colouring and the creation is usually working on paper and then scanning it into my computer, and then either layering other images in my computer, or using digital brushes to add to it, or change light and shades and fixing up mistakes. So, I think of myself as a bit of a combo digital and analogue artist. And I quite like that freedom of being able to change things easily online, but also the wild mess that can get created with watercolours, which I don't think you can really quite do on computers yet. So, I like experimenting.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, wonderful. So, you've illustrated both fictional stories and factual and scientific picture books. Do you approach each type differently in terms of colour, texture or detail, or are they really similar in how you approach them?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, I think they're all different. But also, hopefully each book is different, even if it's fiction or non-fiction. So, I guess in non-fiction, in general, I'm trying to draw things possibly a little bit more accurately. And there's a bit more freedom with fiction to do things however I want. But yeah, I definitely don't try and separate the 2 in terms of technique and process because, yeah, I have fun, just as much fun, splattering and scanning weird textures and things like that in non-fiction as I do in fiction, if that makes sense.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, yeah. Wonderful.

JESS RACKLYEFT: [laughs]

JADE ARNOLD: Many of our listeners are teacher librarians or parents who are selecting books for young readers. What role do you think picture books play in helping children fall in love with reading?

JESS RACKLYEFT: It's probably the most beautiful first stage of a kid's life reading, hopefully for many years ahead. So, when my kids were little, we used to go to the storytime when they were babies. And just seeing their faces light up, both with the presenter and the way the words are conveyed, but also seeing the images, and also that familiarity with knowing certain books, because you read them again and again-- and then at some stage, they start pointing to certain words because they've heard you say it so many times. But they can start piecing together these words and the images and identifying words.

So, my 3-year-old just suddenly could read. And I just-- he wasn't learning at kinder or anything. It was just like he suddenly could identify 'the' and blah, blah, blah. So, I thought that was just so magical to watch.

And then picture books, really, it's not just about reading, it's absorbing art and experiencing the world through these pages and seeing places that they have never been, or even these imagined worlds, which are from the mind of the artist. So, I think it's a really powerful time to spend with kids, either as a parent or teacher. And then they will begin picking them up and reading them on their own. And yeah, it's a very magical job to be able to be involved in that time in a kid's life. So, I feel very grateful I get to do that.

My kids are now-- one just started high school, so they're not reading so many picture books anymore. But I still bring them home from the library, and I'm like, 'Oh, look at this one.' And the non-fiction books, in particular, are still firm favourites at our house. So, it's a really great job. And even adults should be able to go to the library and get some great picture books, if they please.

JADE ARNOLD: Absolutely. I do that on the regular. And that's something that we were talking about with Claire in the last episode, about how picture books aren't just for beginning readers.

Absolutely, they're part of that introduction to reading for young children. But a lot of your books are on the K to 2 book list, all the way up to the 5 to 6 book list, which is the universal book list. And students in Years 7 to 10 can also read those books as part of their PRC journey. And it's so lovely to hear also that your own children, despite being in high school, are still spending some time reading picture books, even if it's not as often as it used to be. I think they're these beautifully rich texts that we don't age out of.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, exactly. And I think the other thing that I've been trying to incorporate more and more into my own school visits is that artmaking can often-- it comes naturally, and it's pretty wild and fun when kids are young. But as they get older, they start going, 'Oh, my bird doesn't look like the picture.' And they get frustrated and don't want to do it anymore, and especially the ones that aren't so accurate.

Because I used to have a chip on my shoulder that, 'Oh, I can't do non-fiction because I can't paint things scientifically accurate. I'm terrible at it.' So, I thought I wasn't allowed to do it. But as I say to the kids, it's all about just building your own style and having a good time doing it. It doesn't have to look perfect. So, accessing images, and especially when they are in the older years, is really important, and encouraging them as well to create their own. So, they don't have to be thinking of themselves as an artistic type to have the freedom to be able to draw and have fun doing it, hopefully.

JADE ARNOLD: Absolutely. I love watercolours myself. I would not consider myself an artist in any way, shape or form. Certainly not great. And I don't really know what I'm doing.

But there's something just lovely and freeing about playing with watercolours on the page and the way that they move in unexpected ways. And there's that real joy in creativity and making yourself really think it doesn't matter if it doesn't look like what I intend it to. It's just fun.

And if you spend more time in that process, that's where you can really develop skill and your own, I guess, artistic style. Or you can just have a lot of fun and then really appreciate the artwork that you see. Because when you try things, you realise, and you appreciate just how hard it is to create that and how much skill actually goes into illustrations.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, totally agree. And again, I tell the kids that any of the pages of my book-- like I was saying about using Photoshop and using the computer a lot, I can't paint a full scene on a piece of paper and go, 'Cool, that's ready to go to the printers.' I spend a lot of time making mess, and scanning things in, and fixing it and changing it.

So, yeah, there's real, hopefully, liberation for people reading picture books, and knowing the background of how they were created, to do their own and have fun doing it. Because it is all about that enjoyable time, just getting messy and letting the colours go crazy. So, yeah, it's good fun.

JADE ARNOLD: Are there any illustrators or books that inspired you when you were growing up, or that you now return to for creative inspiration?

JESS RACKLYEFT: I remember when I was a kid, there's this famous book that has squashed fairies in it. I can't remember what it's called, but that was-- I remember seeing that and just being like-- it was just so funny, and then also so beautiful and magical. And I just thought it was great.

And then as an adult, I love Anna Walker. And when I first started in picture books, or even before I got actually my first job, I contacted her and asked her if she'd mind meeting me to just get an insight into how it works as a job. And she was so kind and let me come and chat and show her my portfolio. And she gave me great feedback.

And we've maintained a really nice relationship. And she's been the art director for some of my books, and I consider her a really great friend now. So, I feel like she's been a huge influence on me and my work. And I feel very grateful that she has allowed me to bother her with all my silly questions over the years.

And yeah, there's lots of iconic-- I remember also, at school, Roland Harvey used to have these big sticker calendar books that we used to get through the book club. And they were always so exciting, and also, all the micro-details, which is not something that I do. But I really love artists that can do these very detailed, and you have to spend hours finding all the bits and pieces in the image. So, yeah, lots of different people have been very inspiring.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, of course. Is the book, the squashed fairies one, 'Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yes, that sounds exactly right, although it's very--

JADE ARNOLD: I remember reading that one as a kid.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yes, I wish I-- I should keep my eyes out at the op shop because I'd love to see it again. I don't know if it's still in print, but it was just so funny and fun.

JADE ARNOLD: I loved it so much, but I also felt a little bit bad for the fairies. I'm just like, 'Oh, you're so pretty,' but also, 'Oh, no, you're squished.'

JESS RACKLYEFT: I know. What a cheeky idea. I love it. And I love it when you have books that interact with the format of the pages and the art and the words. It's just such a clever thing to do. And I wish I could come up with an idea like that, but they're obviously-- you need to wait for that strike of genius because they're hard to do well.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah. For readers who've loved your books, what other illustrators or picture books would you recommend they explore next?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Well, I guess, talking about Claire and my work. Claire's got a big back catalogue. And I love all of her books because she's worked with so many different artists, and they're all quite different, but they all-- you can really feel Claire's influence on both the artists and the feeling of the book. So, I think I'd recommend her.

Obviously, Anna Walker. I'm a big fan and friend of Davina Bell, and I love all of her books. She's just so clever. I love Alison Lester's books, and they're-- she's done an amazing book on Antarctica last year as well.

Yeah, there's so many. I feel bad because there's a lot of friends and talented people in the industry. Renée Treml has just done a beautiful graphic novel that she spent years creating. That only came out last month. Yeah, there's lots of friends and talented people. So, I just think kids should just get out to either the bookshop or the library and grab a stack and have fun exploring.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, it's hard to figure out where you need to stop. Oh, I'm trying to think. Renée's work. I feel like I might have seen that come into our office. Is it 'The Thylacine and the Time Machine' one?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yes.

JADE ARNOLD: Yes, yes, yes. I think we entered that into our system to review last week.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Oh, great. Oh, fantastic!

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, and it looked like such-- I literally just flicked it open as I was putting it into our system, but it looks so fun.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, because she used to work in science. I can't quite remember her role, but I think that has definitely influenced her. She does huge amounts of research and then can explain things in a quite scientific-- it's almost like a bit of a Claire skill, but totally different way. She can make science accessible. So, I think it's a great book.

JADE ARNOLD: Are there any standout titles that you think are essential for a school library collection?

JESS RACKLYEFT: I do think the CBCA shortlist is a great place to have a wide variety of really good books. And yeah, it was really exciting being on it because I think it's quite diverse, but they are really amazing books all the time, every year. And then also, I'd say to have artists and authors from the area that I live in, because I think it's just such a nice thing to be able to possibly get them into your library or school. And also, where the author and illustrator live often influences their work, so you can feel of where that book's been made and possibly chat to them about it personally.

I'd say they're probably my top 2 tips, but obviously, there's just so many good ones. So, it's a really, again, tough question to think about. It must be a tough job. I don't know how they work all this stuff out.

JADE ARNOLD: Look, collection development is a long and constant process. But I think having author visits come in and then being able to give those books to your students when they've got that connection with the author or the illustrator is such a great way to spark that enthusiasm, and to make students a little bit more curious about that book-writing process. Because I think it's easy when you're younger, or even if you're just not super aware of the writing process-- it's easy to disconnect the book from the author or the illustrator and that whole creative process.

Books don't just appear randomly on shelves. There's an incredibly long process that's behind them that have so many people behind the scenes working to create what we end up being able to read in, for a picture book, maybe 5 minutes, for a novel, over the course of several hours. So, yeah, I think having author visits and that real authenticity and connections between them is so important to have.

JESS RACKLYEFT: We're very lucky that we get to go visit schools and they get to meet the person, which often-- I still can't believe it-- but the kids are really excited to meet you. And the librarians built it up. They've got a little display, and--

JADE ARNOLD: Little superstars coming in. [laughs]

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah. But you can hear them in the hallway going, 'That's Jess Racklyeft,' and you're like, 'Oh my god, this is just so cute and hilarious,' because I never met an author or an illustrator when I was at school.

And I think I didn't really think this was a possible career path for a long time. So, I think it's just so great that you can go and have an author or illustrator at your school, and they can meet and learn about all these mistakes and stuff-ups that we make along the way. So, hopefully it makes it more accessible for them to go and try and make their own creations.

JADE ARNOLD: Yeah, of course. Are you allowed to give us a sneak peek into what you're working on next? Is there anything exciting that you have coming up that you're allowed to talk about?

JESS RACKLYEFT: I think so. Well, I haven't been told not to, so let's just--

[laughter]

So, actually, next month, Sophie Laguna has written a story called 'The Last Egg'. And it was, again, quite intimidating, cos it's a very dark fairy tale, almost, but it's about birds and this massive egg appearing, and then what they do with it as they head into winter. So, that was really lovely to work on.

And I tried a quite different technique of using lots of flow pens, which are these pens that you can just spray splatter everywhere. So, that was really fun. It's got lots of delicate little splatters everywhere.

And then I'm also working on a follow-up to 'Country of Colour', which is 'World of Colour'. So, I've done all of the research. I've done all the paintings. And now it's back and forward with all the little mistakes or rewords that the editors are looking at, and then also back to Kristy to do all the design heavy lifting.

I've seen about half of the book, and it just looks so beautiful. It was obviously, again, a quite challenging book to do this research and find the right places to suit each colour. Because I wasn't just thinking about Australian places. I had to find places I've never been before. So, that was really fun.

And then for babies, I've got-- in springtime, I'm starting a new series, which-- because I am a spring baby. And my kids are winter babies. But I was thinking about how, wherever you're born, that makes a huge influence on how you think of yourself. And so, it's a series of baby books based on their seasons. So, the spring one's coming out in spring, obviously.

It's really cute. And it's got ducklings and maybe geese. I don't even know what they are. They're geese-ey things. But again, working with animals, which I really love. So, they can become any family or any child. So, it's been really nice to work on those as well.

JADE ARNOLD: Oh, that sounds lovely. We'll keep an eye out on those. I look forward to getting my hands on them. Last question I have for you is, what are you currently reading, or what are you excited to read next?

JESS RACKLYEFT: Well, I just read an adult book, 'Unusually Australian Gospel'. It's a true story about the author's life with his foster brothers and sisters, and the background that they have, and their family situation. It's just a really engaging, amazing book.

And in terms of books for younger people-- yeah, again, I probably shouldn't choose any in particular because I'm always reading friends. And I have a massive stack of picture books. But yesterday, I went to the launch of 'My Mum is a Bird', and it's written by Angie Cui and illustrated by Evie Barrow, who's a lovely friend. And I love her work as well.

And it's such a sweet book about a parent being a bird. And the kid's not that impressed with their parent being a bird, but it turns out beautifully. So, that was lovely. And I read that with my getting older kids, and they really enjoyed it yesterday as well.

JADE ARNOLD: That's so lovely.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Yeah, it's good fun.

JADE ARNOLD: Jess, thank you so much for joining me today, and for giving us such a rich, behind-the-scenes look at your work. Your books are not only beautiful but filled with such meaning and depth and heart. And I know that our listeners will be walking away inspired, especially for our teacher librarians. I'm sure that they'll be delving into their collections to pull out your titles to feature in displays so that students can pick them up and enjoy them as they approach the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge. So, thank you again for joining me.

JESS RACKLYEFT: Thank you so much for having me, and your really lovely and insightful questions. And yeah, I hope I didn't double up too much on what Claire said. But yeah, it's really nice to chat books for an hour. I really enjoyed it.

JADE ARNOLD: Thank you so much, Jess. Now, for our listeners, we've included a full list of Jess's featured titles, as well as all the books we've mentioned in this episode, in the show notes on the 'Listen @ The Arts Unit' page. You can use it to track books down in your school or local library and share them with the young readers in your life. So, thank you so much for listening, and we'll see you next time on the next episode of 'Between the bookshelves'. Happy reading!

[theme music - Matt Ottley, 'Dance of the Jellyfish']

Thanks for tuning in to 'Between the bookshelves'. This podcast is produced by the Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education, as part of the 'Listen @ The Arts Unit' series. For more information about our programs, to access our show notes or to listen to other podcasts, explore our website at artsunit.nsw.edu.au.

For more information about the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge, including our book lists, visit the PremiersReadingChallenge.nsw.edu.au.

Theme music, 'Dance of the Jellyfish', composed by Matt Ottley. Copyright, Matt Ottley, 2024. Reproduced and communicated with permission.

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Copyright, State of NSW (Department of Education), 2025.