Meet the Author: Inshra Sakhawat Russell

Hi Inshra! Thank you so much for chatting to me about your very first picture book ‘Tiny Jumps In’.

Hello! It’s a pleasure, thank you for offering the opportunity.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a multi-platform content creator, a working mum and illustrator for hire. I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh and have been living in London over 10 years with my husband, 3.5-year-old son and a little dumpling growing in my belly.

In my case the platforms are illustration, design, photography and filmmaking, and content is children’s books, flashcards and posters, music videos, stop motion animations and short films.

My background is in fashion photography and advertising, which I had been doing almost exclusively for Bangladesh’s biggest fashion and retail brand Aarong, making their seasonal fashion photography and film campaigns. This was before baby!

For those who haven’t read it yet, could you give us a quick overview of what ‘Tiny Jumps In‘ is about?

Tiny Jumps In is about a curious girl who wants to know what inhabits the lake next to her house. She decides to take swimming lessons, but just as she is about to jump, she discovers that she is not mentally prepared. Once she takes the leap, Tiny goes on an underwater journey with curious creatures of all colours, shapes and sizes. The story is about facing your fears and going deeper for a better result.

What inspired you to write this story?

I read David Lynch’s book ‘Catching the Big Fish’ which is about going deeper inside one’s thoughts to find inspiration. It talks about transcendental meditation and discovering what’s inside your mind. I was immediately moved to make a story with my interpretation of the book. My version, besides it being about a girl jumping into a lake, has a subtle study of colour theory. When Tiny is in shallow water, the colour palette is primary and it changes into secondary and tertiary as she goes deeper down the lake. Colours fascinate me!

You illustrated the book as well as writing it. Did you know exactly how you wanted it to look from the outset or did the imagery evolve with the story?

Ever since I can remember, I would make doodles of a little girl with big eyes and dark hair. She was a mini muse that always appeared when I would draw without thinking. I once made a wall mural of a girl standing in front of a sunset with the wind in her hair. Looking back I realise that was the same girl who evolved into Tiny. The imagery of the book started with Tiny, who I was comfortable drawing. From that comfort zone I ventured out and created a world for her, in the simplest possible way, and this was the outcome.

You are also an accomplished filmmaker and photographer. What made you want to add children’s author to what must already be a very busy schedule?

It’s not something that I planned, or knew was going to happen. My ethos is ‘Ain’t nothin’ to it, but to do it’ so I just went ahead and made it. And because I made it, it got published, and reached so many children. Now it doesn’t belong to me, but to so many other people.

So that’s the great thing about this ethos, but I take on a lot of different projects and forget how much time things actually take, which can be counter-intuitive!

Do you recall your favourite picture books from when you were a child?

Funnily enough, my love for children’s picture books cultivated when I came to London as a university student!  Growing up in Dhaka, we had limited or no access to picture books. When I was a student, I would visit bookstores and libraries and found myself sitting in the children’s section reading picture books. I started collecting picture books since then, way before I had my son in 2017.

And what are your favourites to read with your own son?

Favourites include Tadpole’s Promise by Tony Ross and Jeanne Willis, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, HIC! by Anushka Ravishankar and Christiane Pieper, The Visitor by Antje Damm, Where’s Halmoni? by Julie J Kim, The Yes by  Sarah Bee and Satoshi Kitamura and Belonging by Jeannie Baker. Also We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty and Ryan Wheatcroft. I can go on but I’ll stop here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! If any of our readers want to find out more then where can they find you?

Here are few interesting links:

For Tiny Jumps In:

https://www.facebook.com/tinyjumpsin

To buy Tiny Jumps In:

https://amzn.to/3gUtRWC

For Guba Books (children’s publishing company that published Tiny Jumps In)

www.gubabooks.com

https://www.instagram.com/gubabooks/

Inshra S Russell:

https://www.facebook.com/inshrasrussell

https://www.instagram.com/studioinku/

and my website www.studioinku.com

You can read our review of Tiny Jumps In here: https://ivyslibrary.com/indexphp/2020/06/30/tiny-jumps-in-brby-inshra-sakhawat-russell/