BrilliANT

A hilarious journey into the impressive micro-world of an ant colony — narrated by words that end in ‘ant’.

With a quirky cleverness that brings to mind the genius work of Philip Bunting and Jon Klassen, this unique 16-word picture book journeys into the impressive micro-world of an ant colony. It is sparsely narrated by words that end in ‘ant,’ letting readers’ imaginations run wild along with the humorous hand-drawn illustrations.

The life of a single ant is depicted from its birth to its (near!) death. It begins with the “expectant” Queen ant. The ant’s predetermined role is revealed as a soldier ant (“militant”). Our protagonists further travels in life align with more “ant” words, until it eventually wins the battle for a banana over a significantly larger foe and uses it to feed the entire colony, showing that this courageous character really is brilliANT! The end matter showcases a number of interesting facts about ants and their superhero qualities, while end papers continue the fun play-on-words.

This minimalist picture book is the debut for Swazi-born, Sunshine Coast- based writer, Rosi Ngwenya. Illustrator Sandy Flett is best known for her line-illustration work in junior fiction series such as Juno Jones, Word Ninja and Edie’s Experiments. This is her debut picture book.

About the Author

Rosi Ngwenya lives on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, where a typical day starts with sunrise at the beach, a morning dance party followed cup of peppermint tea. Rosi was born in the small kingdom of Swaziland (now eSwatini) and moved to the small island of Tasmania, Australia with her family when she was just a toddler.

Rosi has always loved writing. Whether it be short stories, personal reflections or songs for her friends theres never a journal and pen too far away (don’t even ask her about her pen collection!). For fun, Rosi always wants to try something new: hip hop dancing, tennis, hula hooping or surfing – she’ll give it a go! BrilliANT (published in 2024 by Riveted Press) is Rosi’s debut book. You can find her online at: https://rosingwenya.com/

About the Illustrator

Sandy Flett is an illustrator and cartoonist who lives in the beautiful countryside of New England, NSW. She creates her hilariously kooky characters, pictures and stories in her art studio while listening to sheep baa and cows moo very loudly outside her window.

Sandy is the illustrator of the junior fiction series Juno Jones, Word Ninja by Kate Gordon, and is also the creator and presenter of her very own YouTube Channel Kids Art School, which is loved by kids across the world.

BrilliANT is her first picture book.