Desert Jungle by Jeannie Baker

I do need to say this book is not yet available - the Australian publication date will be May, 2023 but today this book was mentioned by my book review and book fan hero Betsy Bird so, even though I have not yet seen this book, I thought I should talk a little about the magical art of our Australian illustrator and author Jeannie Baker.

Betsy was unsure how these illustrations were made but she did admire the way Jeannie Baker gives her work such depth - the landscape on this cover stretches way into the distance. I suspect Betsy Bird had been sent an advance copy. She said the book would benefit from back notes but according to the blurb for the copy from Walker Books Australia it does have an extensive afterword. I do know Jeannie Baker is passionate about the environment and that each of her books are painstakingly produced and her work can take many years. 

I will make a bold prediction (even though I have not yet seen this book) that Desert Jungle will feature in our Australian Children's Book Council awards, judged in 2023, awarded in 2024. 

Another book by Jeannie Baker with a desert setting is The Story of Rose Dock (see below).

You might like to take a look at her web site. You can see a few pages inside this book here. Then dip into my previous post about Jeannie Baker and her wonderful book Mirror.

Here is the publisher blurb for her newest book Desert Jungle: 

In a desert valley, surrounded by mountains of rock and cactus, is the tiny village the boy calls home. He never wanders far, frightened of coyotes and the dusty wilds beyond. On a visit to Grandpa’s ranch, he resists the invitation to explore an area where his grandfather grew up, far from any village. The boy would rather play it safe on his tablet. But one of the creatures he fears has other plans for him, and soon the vast desert “jungle” begins to share its secrets—wonders beyond imagining. Inspired by a research trip to the Sonoran Desert in Mexico, and illustrated with richly detailed and layered mixed-media collage, Jeannie Baker’s gentle family story of awakening to nature is informed by the concept of nature deficit disorder, a subject she explores in the author’s note. Her extensive afterword also illuminates the enormous biodiversity of one of the world’s most magnificent—and misunderstood—habitats.

Here are some further notes from Walker Books UK: 

Chico’s grandpa has taken him on holiday where he grew up as a child, out in the desert. Chico has no interest in exploring the land – the desert jungle frightens him, and he’d much rather play on his his tablet. Grandpa decides that it is time to show Chico the secrets and the wonders that the desert has to offer so that he will not fear it but, instead, welcome it, embrace it and help protect it. Grandpa shows Chico paths through the cactus and the scrub, teaches Chico the plants' names – ocotillo, cholla, cirios, pin cushion, fishhook – and, soon, Chico begins to understand the wonders of the wild. He learns the value of watching, waiting and listening for all the life that hums within his desert home.

In this page Jeannie Baker explains her collage technique.

Here is a slide from our IBBY Australia International Children's Book Day video where we featured our Australian nominees for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Jennie Baker was nominated in 2018. You can see our video on the IBBY Australia web page. 

Picture Books by Jeannie Baker

• ‘Polar’ – 1975
• ‘Grandfather’ – 1977
• ‘Grandmother’ – 1978
• ‘Millicent’ – 1980
• ‘One Hungry Spider’ – 1982
• ‘Home in the Sky’ – 1984
• ‘Where the Forest Meets the Sea’ – 1988
• ‘Window’ – 1991
• ‘The Story Of Rosy Dock’ – 1995
• ‘The Hidden Forest’ – 2000
• ‘Home’ – 2004
• ‘Belonging’ – 2004
• ‘Mirror’ – 2010
• 'Circle' - 2016
• 'Playing with collage' - 2019