Lane Cove Author Aura Parker and her Delightful Children’s Book Twig

Aura Parker is a Lane Cove local illustrator, writer and designer (wow a triple threat).  In 2016, Aura released a children’s book called TWIG.  We asked Aura to tell us a little bit about the process of bringing a book to life from her delightful sketches.

auraparker

Why Did You Decide To Write A Children’s Book?

I have always had the writing bug, as a child, I would make up stories and write diaries. These days writing is a bit of an obsession and the main reason I do it is because I just love it! I have a background in illustration, design and also make screen printed textiles at Studio Bonnie. Children’s literature is a passion of mine and the books kind of tie everything together, things I learn from my own children, the patterned nature of the textiles, it is all in there. I love drawing and with picture books, I get to do both words and pictures! I enjoy my work immensely and it is really exciting when I’m working on a story and things start to fall into place. 

How Long Did It Take to Write the Book?

I love snuggling up in my studio working on the pictures, some of my illustrations take days as there are a lot of little details and things to find. I work on multiple projects at the same time, but Twig was a couple of years in the works before it made it to the bookshelves in November 2016, so it is exciting to finally have it launched. 

Did Living in Lane Cove Provide Some Inspiration?

The book is dedicated to my son Saxon and I wrote it when he was going through a huge bug-phase and about to start Kindy. I live on the edge of the bush in Lane Cove and we used to go exploring together looking for insects. I enjoy walking around our local area, it is stunning and we are lucky to be surrounded by nature which is a constant inspiration for my writing and I’ll often come back from a walk brimming with ideas, or having solved something to do with a story I’m working on.

twig

What is TWIG about?

Twig is about a little character called Heidi on her first day at Bug School. At the heart of the book is all those complicated feelings about fitting in and making friends. It’s about finding confidence getting out of your comfort zone. I hope little ones can take something from the personal and emotional side of these little characters and that it helps them on their way in the big wide world. Picture books can be good conversation starters too, as they are often read to children by an adult, snuggled up in bed when they have their full attention.

 

Here is a sneak peak of the book and it looks truly delightful.

The book has now gone international and is available in Available at your local bookstore in Australia,  Canada (English, and French edition ‘Brindille’), South East Asia (English, and audio pack edition), China and South Korea.  In July 2018 the book will be released in the  US.  This is a huge achievement for a local author.

Twig is available from Burns Bay Bookery in Lane Cove.

Website: Illustrated.com.au
Facebook:  @Aura Parker
Instagram: @AuraParker

Cover Photo:  Aura Parker Facebook page copyright


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