Many adults are guilty of exaggerating admiration of stories they've been told or gifts they've been given. But this is not the case for children, Judy Horacek believes.
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It's one thing the well-known Australian children's book illustrator and artist treasures about her work.
"Children are a lovely audience, so enthusiastic and so sincere," she says.
"When they say they like something, they really do like it, you don't have to think that they are just flattering you."
She would have to be used to a child's genuine joy from the stories she draws – or writes – as her cartoons are featured in homes all over the world, and the iconic Where is the Green Sheep? picture book she illustrated has remained a bestseller for over a decade. It was her very first book, and it was written by leading children's author Mem Fox.
Now, the pair have reunited for their new bedtime story book, This & That, which Horacek will read to children in Canberra at Muse in Kingston on November 7.
It's a story about two mice who begin far away from home and embark on an adventure to get back to their burrow. Horacek has designed her illustrations so that many of the pages reveal a peekof what's coming next in the story.
Her visit to Canberra will coincide with an exhibition of her latest artwork, Far and Near, at Beaver Galleries in Deakin from November 5 to November 29.
"Every time I do an exhibition I find it a bit scary and wonder why I chose to try something new," she says.
"But I've had exhibitions of print and watercolours before so this is sort of along those lines."
The third string to her bow is drawing political cartoons, often with a touch of humour, that reflect her view of the world.
"There's something about the simplicity of a cartoon and you can distil an idea down to its essence, and you catch people unaware with how it twists how they look at something," she says.
"A children's book is a bit like a puzzle and I want them to have a message that if we're all nice to each other the world can be a better place. Where as my cartoons carry a much more complicated message so I love having the balance of both." Her cartoons have regularly explored issues of social justice, feminism and the environment.
How does she find some peace and quiet for inspiration amid her busy life?
"I'll set myself a timer for an hour with my blank page and make sure I'm not distracted by checking an email or paying a bill, I just spend time thinking and take notes of what comes into my head."
"I think a lot of us are motivated by deadlines. It's that pressure that allows my ideas to come into fruition, but it's a lot of having no result before I get to a conclusion."
And this process is much more complicated and time-consuming than some would think. She explained that many people assume an artist instantly know how a picture would match words in a story. But they have to consider what goes on which page, the size of the drawings and what angles to take, among other challenges. However the final result makes it worth it, especially when it is awarded the Children's Book Council of Australia Gold Medal for Early Childhood (as Where is the Green Sheep? was in 2005).
Having lived in Canberra for 13 years while working and studying at the ANU School of Art, Horacek is excited to come back and visit the city that "is nothing like its stereotypes of dull office people".
"Canberra, for its size, has the most extraordinary people, lots of artists, writers, curators and academics."
A Story of This, a Story of That children's storytime at Muse Food Wine and Books in Kingston is on from 3.30pm to 4.30pm on November 7. Tickets are $10 per child, free for accompanying adults.
An exhibition of Horacek's work Far and Near is on at Beaver Galleries, Deakin from November 5 to 29.
