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Jeannie Baker Jeannie Baker i(A41543 works by)
Born: Established: 1950 Croydon, Surrey,
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England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Female
Arrived in Australia: 1975
Heritage: English
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BiographyHistory

Jeannie Baker studied art and design at Brighton polytechnic, UK before settling in Australia in 1975. The turning point for her affinity with Australia was a visit to the Daintree which inspired her award-winning children's book Where the Forest Meets the Sea (1987), set in the tropical rainforest and which has sold one million copies worldwide.

She is the author and illustrator of numerous picture books, several of which have won Australian and international awards. These include Polar (1975) by Elaine Moss in Britain, followed by Grandfather (1977) which she wrote and illustrated, Grandmother (1978), set in Tasmania and Millicent (1980) about an elderly woman who feeds the pigeons in Sydney's Hyde Park. She creates collages that mimic nature in minute detail - a bonsai approach - and photographs them for her picture books.

While she refuses to sell her works, she lends individual pieces to public galleries. Her collage collections have been exhibited in galleries in London, New York and Australia. The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has committed itself to exhibiting her work for a decade, changing the display every two years.

Many of the books have a strong environmental focus and the stories in some of them, Window on a Changing World, (1991), for example, which won a Children's Book Council Award in 1992, is a series of views from a window on a landscape being changed by expanding suburbs, without text.

Baker has said that Australia has given her the freedom and space to explore her art.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Playing with Collage Melbourne : Walker Books Australia , 2019 17172350 2019 single work information book children's 'A how-to guide to making your own collages, brimful of fascinating hints and tips from a master of the genre.

'Over the course of a 40-year career, Jeannie Baker has perfected the art of collage in the creation of picture-book classics such as Where the Forest Meets the Sea and Window, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book. Her stunning pieces, devised by assembling all sorts of different textures, are known all around the globe. Whether it's dried flowers or tiny shells, spaghetti or postage stamps, she uses the world around her to make work that is astonishingly beautiful and deeply creative. 

'In Playing with Collage, she shares her secrets at last – and encourages her readers to get creative. Within each of this book's four main sections, Jeannie presents an abstract collage of her own and offers suggestions and starting points for beginners. There are no right or wrong answers in this treasure of a book, it's all about trusting your instincts ... and playing!' (Publication summary)
 
2020 shortlisted Educational Publishing Awards Australia Primary
2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
y separately published work icon Playing with Collage Melbourne : Walker Books Australia , 2019 17172350 2019 single work information book children's 'A how-to guide to making your own collages, brimful of fascinating hints and tips from a master of the genre.

'Over the course of a 40-year career, Jeannie Baker has perfected the art of collage in the creation of picture-book classics such as Where the Forest Meets the Sea and Window, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book. Her stunning pieces, devised by assembling all sorts of different textures, are known all around the globe. Whether it's dried flowers or tiny shells, spaghetti or postage stamps, she uses the world around her to make work that is astonishingly beautiful and deeply creative. 

'In Playing with Collage, she shares her secrets at last – and encourages her readers to get creative. Within each of this book's four main sections, Jeannie presents an abstract collage of her own and offers suggestions and starting points for beginners. There are no right or wrong answers in this treasure of a book, it's all about trusting your instincts ... and playing!' (Publication summary)
 
2020 shortlisted Educational Publishing Awards Australia Primary
2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
y separately published work icon Circle Melbourne : Walker Books Australia , 2016 9457705 2016 single work picture book children's

'In an infinity of sky, tiny godwit birds follow ancient, invisible migratory pathways, flying on and on for nine nights and nine days, flying without rest... This is their story.

'From the creator of the critically acclaimed Where the Forest Meets the Sea and Mirror, comes a poetic, eco-conscious picture book which explores the complex, interdependency of nature. This is the story of the little-known Bar-tailed Godwit who, following invisible pathways that have been used for thousands of years, undertakes the longest unbroken migration of any bird, a total of 11,000 kilometres, flying from Australia and New Zealand to their breeding grounds in the Arctic... and back again.

'Facing hunger and treacherous conditions to reach their destination, their flight is one of bravery, tenacity and strength, and Jeannie's stunning mixed media collages, inspired first-hand by the spectacular landscapes of Alaska and China, will amaze readers, and take them on an extraordinary visual journey to the corners of our Earth.' (Publication summary)

2017 longlisted The Green Earth Book Award
2018 shortlisted Sakura Medal (Japan)
2017 joint winner John Burroughs Association Literary Awards Riverby Award for Young Readers
2017 commended Whitley Awards Illustrated Children's Book
2017 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Five to 8 Years
2017 shortlisted The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature Picture Books
2017 shortlisted REAL Awards Picture Story Books
2017 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian Book of the Year for Younger Children
2017 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
2017 winner Indie Awards Children's
2017 nominated Kate Greenaway Medal
Last amended 26 Oct 2021 09:15:10
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