Cirrus@Austlit

'Bern Emmerichs is an artist whose work is held by the Australian National Gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria and elsewhere in Australia and internationally. She also illustrates narrative non-fiction about European settlement in Australia for Berbay Books in a distinctive intricate and patterned style.' (Introduction)

'When Judith Rossell, or Jude as she is usually called, welcomes me into her Melbourne home, I immediately notice one of the miniature houses sitting in the room.' (Introduction)

'A dragon, getting ready for bed, stares impassively at framed numbers arranged in a grid on the wall. His storybook left open on the floor, a doting relative's piercing gaze from a portrait on the wall, he settles into his fretwork four-poster.' (Introduction)

'In recent lockdown times, along with other picture book people, I've been reading, reminiscing and researching.' (Introduction)

'SUE: The First Third is such a love-letter to family, and friends as family. While we all know about Yiayia, I really like the relationship Billy has with his Mum, and what I wanted to discuss was how you as an author write parents.' (Introduction)

'It is the Dry.

'Over the plains and cliffs and rivers of Kakadu, in northern Australia, the air hangs heavy.

'It's hot and very humid.

'So begins the narrative of a journey into Kakadu in which readers are transported to Australia's largest national park and immersed in the cycle of seasons from the Dry, to the Wet and back again...' (Introduction)