Rossell, Judith 1953-

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Rossell, Judith 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born 1953, in Australia.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

CAREER:

Illustrator. Formerly worked as a CSIRO scientist and as a product development officer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Children's Book Award shortlist, Children's Book Council of Australia, 1999, for How to Guzzle Your Garden.

WRITINGS:

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Lost Treasure of the Green Iguana: A Jungle Maze Adventure, ABC Books (Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

The Haunted Castle of Count Viper: A Spooky Maze Adventure, Lark Books (New York, NY), 2002.

I Spy with Inspector Stilton, Little Hare Books (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), 2003.

The Haunted Castle of Count Viper: A Spooky Maze Adventure, ABC Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Inspector Stilton and the Missing Jewels, Little Hare Books (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Inspector Rockfort and the Missing Jewels, Lark Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Inspector Rockfort and the Missing Treasures, Lark Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse, Walker (New York, NY), 2007.

The Mystery of the Golden Crocodile: An Egyptian Maze Adventure, Lark Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Sam and the Killer Robot, Little Hare Books (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), 2007.

Hector and the Mythical Creatures: A Hunt and Solve Puzzle, Lark Books (New York, NY), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR:

John Pinkney, Return to Mazeworld: The Incredible Journey Continues, Five Mile Press (Noble Park, Australia), 1999.

Jackie French, How to Guzzle Your Garden, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Garth Nix, Blackbeard the Pirate, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Sally Odgers, Guess My Friends, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Jane Bowring, Aussiemaze, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Sally Odgers, Sleepless in Space, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Anne Morgan, Warts 'n' All, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 2003.

Rina A. Foti, Harriet and the Fox, Koala Books (Mascot, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Moya Simons, My Amazing Poo Plant, Puffin (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 2005.

Brenda Parkes, The No Goat Zone, Thomson Learning Australia (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2006.

Claire Saxby, A Nest for Kora, Windy Hollow Books (Kew East, New South Wales, Australia), 2007.

Janeen Brian, Too Tight, Benito, Little Hare Books (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Judith Rossell has illustrated over a dozen children's picture books in addition to writing and illustrating several original titles, such as The Lost Treasure of the Green Iguana: A Jungle Maze Adventure and Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse. In addition to illustrating children's titles, Rossell has also created artwork for greeting cards as well as for government advertisements in her native Australia.

In Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse, Rossell combines adventure with mysticism. Her story begins when Jack's Uncle Mungo suddenly dies. After the death of his beloved relative, Jack soon realizes that he has inherited the family curse: he is forced to fend off a group of ghostly pirates who were betrayed by Blackstrap Morgan. As the living descendent of Blackstrap Morgan, Jack learns that these ghost pirates hope to exact their revenge on their pirate captain through him. Life drastically changes for Jack when his teacher, his father, and the other adults around him are taken over by the spirits of the ghost pirates. As a result, Jack must rely on his wits and his imagination in order to escape the tactics of the angry specters. Rossell fills her self-illustrated title with fast-paced action and stocks it well with what a Kirkus Reviews writer described as "funny characters and situations." As the critic also added, Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse has "outstanding read-aloud potential." Kathy Isaacs expressed a similar view in her appraisal of Rossell's story for Booklist, writing that the author's "straightforward third-person narrative and fast-paced action" make Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse "a good choice for the reluctant reader."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2007, Kathy Isaacs, review of Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse, p. 52.

Guardian, January 6, 2004, review of I Spy with Inspector Stilton, p. 11.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007, review of Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse.

Magpies, September, 2000, review of Guess My Friends, p. 29; July, 2001, review of Aussiemaze, p. 22; November, 2003, review of I Spy Inspector Stilton, p. 24; September, 2005, Russ Merrin, review of My Amazing Poo Plant, p. 31.

School Library Journal, June, 2007, Tim Wadham, review of Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse, p. 122.