Her first book, My Little Island, was named Children's Book of the Year by the St Martins Children's Book Council and also became a feature book on the popular U.S television program Reading Rainbow. Recognition įor her contribution to children's literature in Western Australia, Lessac was awarded the 2010 Muriel Barwell Award by the Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch. In 2002 Lessac founded a Western Australian Branch of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and she has served on the executive committee of the Australian Society of Authors.

In 1989 she created the illustration for the cover of the fund-raising album After The Hurricane – Songs For Montserrat. Career Īfter My Little Island, Lessac went on to publish a number of children's books, initially in the U.K, the U.S and later in the state of Western Australia, where she relocated with her husband, author and musician Mark Greenwood. In 1983 Lessac left Montserrat and moved to London, where she began to exhibit regularly and published her first book, My Little Island (1984), which was a compilation of her paintings of Montserrat and her ' love letter' to the island. Inspired by the beauty of the island, she concentrated on painting the old West Indies architecture and its people. Lessac moved to the Caribbean island of Montserrat in 1979, where she began her career as a painter. She worked at many jobs to finance her studies, including projectionist at the local cinema. At the age of 18 she moved to Malibu, California, to study ethnographic film at the University of Southern California and UCLA.

As a child, she spent many weekends in museums and galleries. Lessac grew up in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, a small town outside New York City. She has published many children's books and won numerous awards for her illustrations. The New School for Social Research, USC and UCLAįrané Lessac is a U.S.-born author, illustrator and painter who lives in Western Australia.

Traci sorell we are still here