Description
Cleo loves clouds. She has drawn them, painted them and sculpted them — and now, to open her very own cloud museum, she needs a real one. Not a wispy cirrus, a rain-heavy nimbus or a sky-covering stratus, but the puffiest, fluffiest cumulus cloud of all.
So, Cleo gathers her cloud-catching equipment and sets to work. She races and chases, creeps and casts, waves and whirls — but cumulus clouds, it turns out, are far too high and much too fast. Then, just as she is ready to give up, the tiniest, silver-tufted cloud of all drifts gently into her open hand.
Cleo has her cloud at last. But as she pictures it shut away for everyone to peer and prod at, she begins to wonder: is a museum really the best place for a cloud?
Introducing the different kinds of clouds along the way, A Cloud for Cleo is a heart-warming picture book about curiosity, determination and discovery — and the joy of setting something free. Brought to life in Nicky Johnston’s whimsical watercolour illustrations, it is a perfect read-aloud book for budding scientists, dreamers and nature-lovers aged 4 to 8.
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Jemima Parker has been writing and sewing for as long as she can remember, and is passionate about nurturing creativity in children. She holds a degree in Visual Arts (Textiles) from the Australian National University School of Art and Design, and has exhibited widely throughout Australia and abroad.
Poppy Makes Pockets was Jemima’s first picture book. She was inspired to write it by her young nieces, who love to collect treasures but almost never have any pockets to carry them. Inevitably, Jemima ends up carrying a handful of special pebbles, leaves and sticks. She once sewed two large, brightly coloured pockets onto a pair of trousers for her two-year-old niece, so she could carry her own treasures.
When Jemima’s not writing, you’ll find her playing with her dogs, practicing yoga or curled up somewhere with a good book. She was born in a small town on Australia’s far-south coast, and now lives in Canberra.
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Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker and author/illustrator of children’s books. She enjoys every aspect of creating books for kids, especially illustration. Nicky’s illustration style is often described as whimsical, emotive, soft and expressive. She is passionate about promoting emotional resilience in children and raising awareness of mental health issues.
Nicky’s love of teaching sees her busy with school visits to share her journey of becoming an author and illustrator, and to show children the process of creating a book using excerpts of her work. She also presents at workshops and conferences. As well as teaching, Nicky works from home writing and illustrating in her art studio, and has contributed to many books including At the End of Holyrood Lane (EK Books, 2018), The Fix-It Man (EK Books 2017), Grandma Forgets (EK Books, 2017, with Paul Russell), Saying Goodbye to Barkley (EK Books, 2019) and Upside-Down Friday (EK Books, 2021).
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