April 28, 2017

Row Row Row Your Boat featured in Better Beginnings

The cover for the picture book, Row Row Row Your Boat by Matt Shanks
The cover for Row Row Row Your Boat by, well, me!

When you’re deep in the midst of creating picture books it’s easy to lose sight of the impact that your personal journey with your characters will have in the world. So, imagine my complete surprise when I found out that my first picture book, Row Row Row Your Boat, has been included in a pilot program for children in Western Australia!

Find out more about the program

Other observations
December 30, 2025

Procrastination or rest?

How do I know if reading books, playing video games, going for walks and doing chores around the house is procrastination or rest?

December 23, 2025

Not a dream, a job

Is being a ‘full-time illustrator’ all it’s cracked up to be or do we romanticise this way to make money because it reminds of childhood?

December 16, 2025

The elements of beauty

Beauty comes in many forms, in many different times, to many different people. So, what makes something beautiful?

December 9, 2025

Which idea next?

If an artist finds themselves with too many ideas, is there a deceptively simple way to decide which idea we should work on next?

December 2, 2025

Making a map of dead ends

If we can more easily see the paths we shouldn’t follow, does that make finding the correct one easier?

View all