Craft Roach

Craft Roach is an exuberant story about an artsy little bug who lives life a little differently. Written by Rachel Burke (@imakestagram) and with art from best-selling illustrator Daniel Gray-Barnett, Craft Roach is a fun, rhyming picture book about standing out, fitting in and having the courage to be your most joyful self.

Craft Roach makes the other bugs
feel very tense and stressed.
Standing out? Being seen?
They do not think it best.

But Craft Roach sees things differently,
has more than just an inkling –
that crawlies wouldn’t be so feared,
if all of them were twinkling …

Craft Roach is a story that will change your mind about cockroaches, and will delight and encourage young readers to be bold and never dim their light.

About the Author

Rachel Burke is a practising multidisciplinary artist, designer and author based in Brisbane, Australia. Known for her vibrant, tactile wearable artworks and iconic tinsel creations, Rachel's work is inspired by a love for naive craft materials and transforming the mundane into the magical. She has worked on many creative collaborations with global brands, such as Disney, LEGO, Barbie, Airbnb, Nikon, Visa, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Frankie Magazine, Sephora, Mecca and My Little Pony. Rachel has exhibited her artwork in gallery spaces across Australia, including the Museum of Brisbane, Saint Cloche Gallery, Hamer Hall, the Australian Centre of the Moving Image, Enough Space, GAFFA and the Redlands Art Gallery. Craft Roach is her first picture book.

About the Illustrator

Daniel Gray-Barnett is an illustrator and author from the Huon Valley in lutruwita/Tasmania. He likes to think of himself as someone who was put on this planet to tell a few stories before he turns into a grumpy old man. He's worked with clients including Disney, Kiehl's, Sydney Opera House and The New York Times and his first picture book, Grandma Z, won a Children's Book Council of Australia award for Best New Illustrator. When he's not in the studio, he can be found daydreaming in the garden with his husband, German pointers and chickens.