My children LOVED this book! It has no words, but each page is a view from a boys window in his house, from birth to when he starts a family of his own! It shows the changes in the area where he lives. I loved having my children tell me from one page/view to the next what had changed looking through the window. It also lends itself to having children make up their own story and dialog for the characters seen.

Windows is an amazing text free picture book that manages to say it all. Extremely relevant to the present times, Baker uses collage to view a boys life through a window. He grows up in the country and as he becomes older the scenary changes from his own house to a developed city. At age 20 he gets married and decides to move back into the country. In the last window we see the grown man with a child of his own and a sign across the road reading house blocks for sale. Very moving!!

This is an excellent wordless picture book that depicts urban sprawl from outside and inside a boys bedroom window. It is appropriate for children of all ages and can prompt some great discussions on environmental topics. It is poinant without any preachiness. This would be an excellent book to introduce an environmental education lesson!!!!

.

Jeannie Baker's latest book contains dazzlingly realistic images.

The illustrations in "Hidden Forest" are photographs of her gallery works that are 3-dimensional constructions, made up of a translucent collage of materials illuminated from behind in a light box. They are truly remarkable with their vividness and accuracy of representation. There is a strong environmental theme running through Jeannie's works. In this story it is the fragility of the marine environment that is the focus of the story.

Young Ben has to go diving in the Kelp Forest to learn about the beauty and special qualities of this underwater world.

This is a truly magnificent book. Look out for an exhibition of Jeannie's artworks if it tours near you.

This is another beautiful book from a great artist. Jeannie Baker uses a range of techniques to bring to life the underwater world. Each of the pictures has been created so lovingly that Baker's respect for the Australian landscape is obvious. As a teacher of young children I love this book for its detail. It never fails to quieten a class as they gaze at the pictures and listen to the wonderful story. I have also given copies to my nephew who is ocean-crazy and he loves it. Down here in Australia we spend a lot of time in the ocean, looking at the ocean and talking about the ocean and this is one of those books that is becoming a kids classic.

.

Jeannie Baker's books always have a strong underlying environmental theme, but it is never too strident. Instead, she lets her beautiful artwork do most of the talking.

In "The Story of Rosy Dock" our focus is drawn to the harsh beauty of the Australian desert. The vivid desert red ochre colors shine out from every page. The level of realism that Jeannie has achieved in her collages tease the eye, with many quirky little details which are almost hiding in the huge landscapes.

The highlight of the story is a time when the dryness and harshness of the desert is inundated with rare flooding rains.

The human dimension is sensitively handled, where we see the elderly widow rescued from her little shack, when the floodwaters almost cover its roof. There is humour as well, where we see the widow's armchair high up in a dead tree when the floodwaters subside.

The sight of a small group of kangaroos and camels marooned on an island of high ground is touching. We see the spectacle of hundreds of pelicans coming up from the coast, seeking out the lakes created by the retreating floodwaters.

The environmental message comes through when we recognize the impact of the plagues of rabbits that burrow away in the sandy soil of the desert. The key to the story is the Rosy Dock plant, which was innocently planted by the widow in her precious little garden. This escapes and is propagated all over the countryside. The damaging impact of non-indigenous fauna and flora is a particularly severe problem in Australia.

The negative environmental impact of the Rosy Dock is clearly explained in an "afterword" by the author at the back of the book. In brief, it is the power of these introduced species to "change whole landscapes and push many (endemic) plants and animals to extinction".

.

Jeannie Baker is a collage artist. many are created to illiustrate her children's books, but they also stand alone as works of art, and there are some in art galleries. like 'Where The Forest Meets The Sea' the technique is employed to illustrate an environmental theme - this time the introduction of exotic plant species. This time it is a desert environment of the Finke River. It is a superb introduction to this ecological issue. it is not, however finger-wagging. At the end Baker says: " Throughout the world, often with the best intentions, people introduce plants and animals into a new environment with enormous unforseen consequences. Without their normal predators, some non-native plants and animals multiply so quickly they change the whole landscapes and push many native plants and animals to extinction."

Thus Baker seeks to educate and alert us to the problem and raise our awarness so as to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

Equally at home as a general reading book, or useful in a primary school science course.

.

This is one of Jeannie Baker's earliest books, being first published in 1978. It is a tale of a young girl (almost certainly Jeannie) visiting her grandmother's house.

The story couldn't be simpler, but it is delightfully charming. The real beauty of Jeannie Baker's books is her amazing ability to create the very life-like collages that illustrate her pages.

Grandmother's house is almost hidden behind a wildly overgrown garden. The subtle message is that because of her age (and widowhood?) the garden has got away from her. The architectural detail of the house is magnificent, with filigreed iron lace work on the exterior and a superb carved mantle around the fireplace.

You suspect Jeannie's artistic talents must have been inherited from her grandmother for in the garden are carved stone figures that she said she carved long ago.

We share the simple joys of sitting with grandmother in front of the fire drinking tea and eating chocolate cake, and helping to knit a scarf of rainbow colors.

For those readers who know Jeannie's later works it is interesting to see how her style and technique have evolved since 1978. These days her work has a much stronger environmental message such as seen in "Where the Forest Meets the Sea". Her collage methods of illustration have become increasingly sophisticated, but the very domestic scenes and sentimental story line seen in "Grandmother" is genuinely appealing.

Hopefully we will soon see this book back in print.

.

I've been reading the Spanish language version of this book to second graders for about five years. They are enthralled by the story and the artwork. The art is done in 3 dimensional collage using natural materials - hard to distinguish from reality. It inspires great art projects. My copy has worn out from loving eyes and fingers poring over it. Laverne David Gopstein

A boy journeys through the rain forest and begins to fantasize about the plants and animals that lived there millions of years ago. At the end of the day, he begins to wonder how it could change in the future.
The forest in this story really exists in Australia. The artist uses relief collages for the illustrations in this book. Many of these "collage constructions" have been exhibited in art galleries around the world. This story makes the reader think about how civilization can affect Mother Nature. Finding the hidden pictures is sure to delight readers of all ages.

.

This is one of Jeannie Baker's early books, first published in 1988. It's good to see that it is still in print.

"Where The Forest Meets the Sea" is truly a work of art. It is an ideal companion to her most recent work "The Hidden Forest". It is fascinating to see how her style and technique has evolved and become increasingly sophisticated over the past 12 years.

Jeannie has an unashamedly environmental message to deliver, with her simple story lines dealing with the fragility of very special, ecologically unique areas. She doesn't push too hard with the rhetoric but lets her beautiful, ultra-lifelike, 3 dimensional images provide the perfect supporting context.

Having recently seen an exhibition of Jeannie's work that provided the images for "Hidden Forest" it is clear that it is the visual power of the images that is the most effective means of convincing people of the value of a particular environment.

In the dark forest scenes there are hidden dinosaurs and aboriginal figures providing a mystical quality to the book. The message that comes through is the timelessness of the natural environment.

We are reminded at the end of the book of the potential for man to radically change the environment for the worse. It takes books like this to provide us with insights and observations that will prevent this from happening.

.

Jeannie Baker is a collage artist, and has created a beautiful book from a huge array of natural materials. The photographic illustrations of the collages have enormous texture.

An Honour Book in the Australian Children's Picture Book of the Year awards. It conveys a message of the need to care for the natural environment, and warns against the over-development of wilderness areas. Raises important issues in the most exquisite way.

Well-loved by children, and deserving of a place in every school, public and home library.

A beautiful depiction of an exquisite wilderness, the Daintree Rainforest of far north Queensland.

Also recommended for older children and adults who enjoy and appreciate innovative illustration and the art of children's books.