Chook Doolan Series
Written by James Roy, Walker Books 2015 & 2016
“Chook Doolan is a lovable character (visually so as well, thanks to Lucinda Gifford’s fantastic character images) that children with anxiety and fears will relate to immediately… …The talented James Roy has created an endearing character in Chook to voice in a subtle way, and always with a balance of positive reinforcement and encouragement, fears and insecurities many young children experience.”
“From his name, you’ll be right in thinking that Chook is about Australian as you can get. Lucinda Gifford’s illustrations bring him, with his big innocent eyes and his family, to life wonderfully…Chook meets the Patel family, who invite him along to a Diwali celebration in the park, and slowly he comes out of his shell, speaking up and enjoying all the things he thought he was afraid of in the beginning of the book… I never saw something like this growing up and I don’t see books like this for older age groups. But, these are the books that make me hopeful for the future of Australian children’s literature and the future of Australia as a inclusive multicultural society.”
There are eight books in the Chook Doolan series for beginning readers. I’ve loved illustrating Chook – he’s such a gentle and well-rounded character. Here are some images and internal spreads. As usual, I try to sneak in animals whenever I can: