Jenny Hale


Jenny Hale is an Australian illustrator and author who has published 20 children's picture books, including the Double Delight flap books with hundreds of thousands of copies in print. Her illustration styles range from naïve and cute to detailed watercolour realism. Jenny often hides characters and little jokes in her pictures for children to find.

Biography

Jenny is the fifth of seven children, all of whom showed drawing talent. From the age of 8, her drawings were published in the Sun-Herald children’s lift-out pages, and she won prizes in competitions as diverse as the Coca-Cola summer beach sand modelling competition, billboard painting, and a Dulux egg painting competition at Easter 1973. After completing Graphic Design at Randwick TAFE, she worked as a freelance illustrator, graphic designer and copywriter.

Work

Jenny works in pastel, watercolour, coloured pencil, and in Photoshop, concentrating on figure illustration. Her illustrations are often brightly colored.
A voracious reader, Jenny wrote fantasy stories from the age of 10. Her adult writing career was restricted to advertising copy until her 5th picture book, a maze book about a princess’s quest. Little Frog followed. In 2009 Jenny returned to her writing roots with Jatta, a darker fantasy. It explores the torment of a princess werewolf, who cannot control her bloodlust. The story includes black humor and a "multifarious plot that will have the reader engrossed to the very end," according to Reading Time.

Children’s book reviews

Jenny has reviewed for the Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum and regularly reviews for the Sun-Herald.

Published works

Young adult fantasy novel
Board books
Princess Poppets series
Picture flap book Series: Double Delights