kolkata picture books give children the ability to read think and dream said an exhausted frane lessac on saturday after a rewarding afternoon with a group of potential picture authors the australian authorillustrator of international renown is in the city conducting workshops interactions and reading sessions for schoolchildren lessacs visit under the auspices of the australia india council and in association with the oz fest australias biggest cultural festival in india has brought immense pleasure to children who are forever inclined to paintandtell by a dynamic presenter the author of 35 picture books is also taking for the keeps some exceedingly colourful lift a flap books she had made the children sitanddraw in two hours flat children are my biggest source of excitement they bring out in me the craving to share more and create more smiled lessac 58 who has been awarded the muriel barwell award for distinguished service in childrens literature strangely enough it took lessac an entire year to find her first publisher the story of my first book is rather long drawn by the sheer beauty of the little island i moved into montserrat in the caribbean it was here that i was inspired to paint without knowing that the genre of my painting was actually called the nave art i had already started making a living as an artist but then i started feeling the need to say in words all that i had painted she said the power of the spoken word as it were had suddenly dawned upon her and my little island came into being only after a year the book was named childrens book of the yearand eventually became a reading rainbow feature book more recently my canvas is inspired by the red ochre and brilliant blue of the australian landscape she informed lessacs eye for detail is evident in the wealth of stories she has weaved and illustrated one would hardly notice in the books the little shoes worn by a boy or the colours between the leaves but all of them help build a snapshot of life that vibrant the colours in my paintings are like music they compliment the flow of storytelling said lessac i love sharing with students the process of writing and illustrating picture books i guess my bonding is instant because i goad the children to dream and recreate the dreams she added travelling is a major source of inspiration for me i render my impressions of a country and its way of life in oil and gouache paintings she said no wonder india has been featured in two of her books the bird who was an elephant is themed on india while the nine o clock lullaby has a chapter on india my ambition is to instill pride and self esteem in children about their unique heritage and their own ability to capture it in picture and words she said born in new jersey lessac now lives in western australia and has numerous