SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Grumble Boats
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.tamsinainslie.com.au/
CITY: Murwillumbah
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: Australian
LAST VOLUME: SATA 266
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born February 2, 1974, in the United Kingdom; immigrated to Australia; married Nigel Beard (marriage ended); partner of John Tilden; children: Olympia, Matilda.
EDUCATION:Attended Clifton College of Art, Bristol; Sydney Place Art College, Bath , England; attended Design College Australia, Brisbane, 2003.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator, designer, printmaker. Worked as a freelance illustrator and artist for more than ten years; Ainslie Beard Creative, cofounder, 2005—. Also conducts art workshops for children.
AVOCATIONS:Surfing, cooking, spending time with family.
MEMBER:Illustrators Australia, Community Printmakers Murwillumbah.
AWARDS:Illustration award, Design College Australia, 2004; Christmas card competition winner, Avant Card; Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award for Young Children.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A UK-born designer and illustrator who now makes her home in Australia, Tamsin Ainslie has contributed the artwork to more than twenty children’s books, among them her self-illustrated I Can Say Please and I Can Say Thank You. Additionally, Ainslie illustrated the works in Leonie Norrington’s “Brigid Lucy” chapter-books series as well as Princess Betony and the Unicorn and several other easy readers by Pamela Freeman.
In Ainslie’s I Can Say Please a young girl goes on a picnic accompanied by her pet hedgehog, her toy cat, and her stuffed rabbit. The four spend an enjoyable day holding hands, sharing food, and playing by a pond. A critic in Kirkus Reviews applauded the “soft sweetness” of the tone in I Can Say Please and described it as “a wholesome, pleasant demonstration of politeness for toddlers just discovering the joys of imaginative play.” In I Can Say Thank You, a companion volume, the characters trade compliments on each other’s cartwheels, offer the others an umbrella in the rain, and perform other acts that elicit the titular response. Laura Stanfield, reviewing both books in School Library Journal, complimented Ainslie’s “sweet texts and simple illustrations.”
According to Horn Book reviewer Martha V. Parravano, Ainslie contributes “cheerful illustrations full of eye-pleasing colors and patterns” to David Bedford’s When I Love You at Christmas, a holiday tale aimed at preschoolers. In another illustration project, Katrina Germein’s Littledog, a family vacationing at the seashore adopts a stray who wanders into their lives. Ainslie’s illustrations are “imbued with summer’s golden hues,” Claire Saxby wrote on the Aussie Reviews online. Saxby also applauded Ainslie’s “soft and beautiful” artwork in Count My Kisses, Little One, an introduction to the first ten numbers written by Ruthie May.
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Ainslie illustrated Edwina Wyatt’s book, Sometimes Cake, in which friends Audrey, a girl, and Lion, a lion, like to celebrate birthdays. It’s not their birthday, but that’s no reason not to celebrate. They have cake and balloons and confetti because it’s Tuesday, because they like the color purple, and because monkeys are funny. When they run out of things to celebrate and Lion gets bored, Audrey tries to find other things to do, like playing hide-and-seek and playing tunes on musical instruments. “Ainslie’s illustrations, rendered in pencil and gentle watercolors, are airy and sweet, communicating a sense of childlike joy and lightsomeness,” reported a Kirkus Reviews contributor. In Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented that in this spritely tale, friends “notice when friends aren’t feeling their best, and try to give them what will make them happy.”
In a picture book about feeling down, Grumble Boats, written by Susannah McFarlane and illustrated by Ainslie, Emma is too young to accompany her brother to a pirate party and must stay home with Grandma. They go to the beach where Grandma shows Emma how to draw her grumbles on paper and fold up the paper into a boat. They go to the water, put their boats in, and wave goodbye to their grumbles as the boats sail away. When Emma’s tummy grumbles too, it’s time for lunch. In Kirkus Reviews, a critic remarked: “This quiet lesson on art therapy may help youngsters deal with their own grumbly feelings,” adding that Ainslie’s soft, smudgy artwork “feels especially apt given the aquatic setting.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2013, Kay Weisman, review of Brigid Lucy and the Princess Tower, p. 120.
Horn Book, November-December, 2011, Martha V. Parravano, review of When I Love You at Christmas, p. 65.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2011, review of I Can Say Please; September 1, 2011, review of When I Love You at Christmas; January 1, 2022, review of Sometimes Cake; February 1, 2025, review of Grumble Boats.
Magpies, March, 2010, Liz Derouet, review of Count My Kisses, Little One, p. 26, and Sharon Greenaway, review of Littledog, p. 29; September, 2010, Moira Robinson, review of Can We Lick the Spoon Now?, p. 25; May, 2011, Kate O’Donnell, review of Brigid Lucy Wants a Pet, p. 30.
Publishers Weekly, September 26, 2011, review of When I Love You at Christmas, p. 70.
School Library Journal, January, 2012, Laura Stanfield, review of I Can Say Please, p. 70.
ONLINE
Aussie Reviews Online, http://www.ausiereviews.com/ (August 15, 2010), Claire Saxby, review of Count My Kisses, Little One; (August 22, 2010) Claire Saxby, review of Littledog.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (January 2022), review of Sometimes Cake.
Tamsin Ainslie Homepage, http://www.tamsinainslie.com.au (January 1, 2014).
Tamsin Ainslie Web log, http://tamainslie.blogspot.com (January 1, 2014).*
Tamsin Ainslie is an illustrator living in Murwillumbah, Northern New South Wales, on a rambling, messy farm with her family and three dogs, two horses and an array of chickens and ducks that provide never-ending inspiration for drawing. She has illustrated more than fifty books, including In My Garden (with Kate Mayes), Count My Kisses, Little One and Count My Christmas Kisses (with Ruthie May). The Sisters Saint-Claire (with Carlie Gibson), Collecting Sunshine (with Rachel Flynn), Sometimes Cake (with Edwina Wyatt), Grumble Boats (with Susannah McFarlane) and Can We Lick the Spoon Now? (with Carol Goess) have all been CBCA Notable Books, with Can We Lick the Spoon Now? also winning the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award for Young Children. Her paintings and drawings are held in collections all over the world.
I was born in the UK, I travelled & moved a lot with my family through my teenage years before going to art college at the Clifton College of Art, Bristol and then to Sydney Place Art College, Bath Uk. I moved to Australia in my twenties and lived in Broome Western Australia for a number of years, and Margaret River, Melbourne & Brisbane before ultimately settling in Murwillumbah, NSW.
I work from my studio in the Northern Rivers, NSW, where I live with my family, two horses, three noisy dogs, lots of chickens and a duck called Lottie who I love very much and who is very loud and loves to tell the world what she is doing all of the time. I spend most of my time drawing, painting, writing and illustrating children's books, more drawing, printmaking and playing with paper and colour.
I like to draw everything around me, my everyday life, the dogs, the horses, the colours of the morning, the people, objects and moments that surround me.
When I'm not drawing, I'm spending time with my family, reading, writing, riding the horses, drawing my family, cooking, making cakes, making more cakes, walking on the beach, and taking the horses to the beach and swimming with them in the ocean.
I regularly have solo and group exhibitions & my work is held in private collections all over the world.
My work can be found in children's books, on book covers, stationery, greeting cards, children's games and toys, posters, promotional material and in advertising. I have illustrated over 50 books. They are sold all over the world. A number of my books have been translated into different languages including Turkish, French, German and Korean.
I have illustrated the Barney Gumnut and Friends range of Children's products for Ashdene, which include dinner sets, egg cups, mugs, plates, tote bags, fabric patterns, aprons and more.
Ainslie, Tamsin GRUMBLE BOATS Charlesbridge (Children's None) $17.99 4, 15 ISBN: 9781623546175
In this Australian import, a grandmother shows a little girl how to let go of her grumpy attitude.
Emma's brother is attending a pirate party, but Emma is too young to go with him. Instead, her parents drop her off at Grandma's house. With her arms tightly crossed and her mouth set in a frown, Emma makes her feelings abundantly clear. Grandma takes Emma and Bella the dog to the beach. Pulling out paper and pens, Grandma says, "We're going to draw our grumbles." As she sketches zigzag lines and pointy corners, Grandma explains that she's expressing her irritation about breaking her favorite teacup this morning. Emma is initially reluctant but then scribbles her frustrations onto the paper. With the tide rolling in, Grandma helps Emma fold the papers into boats. They both run to the water's edge and toss their "grumble boats" in, waving their grumbles goodbye. Soft, smudgy watercolor-and-pen illustrations imbue the narrative with a gentleness reminiscent of a grandparent's hug; the artistic medium feels especially apt given the aquatic setting. This quiet lesson on art therapy may help youngsters deal with their own grumbly feelings. Instructions on folding a grumble boat are appended, along with a brief statement noting that paper is biodegradable, but readers should avoid littering. The characters are light-skinned.
Cheery guidance on cultivating a more positive outlook.(Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Ainslie, Tamsin: GRUMBLE BOATS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A825128200/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d8f756f9. Accessed 29 July 2025.
Wyatt, Edwina SOMETIMES CAKE Candlewick (Children's None) $17.99 1, 4 ISBN: 978-1-5362-1781-0
On regular days, two pals find reasons to celebrate.
Audrey, a little White girl, likes birthdays; but it isn't hers. Not to worry; her outsize but eminently benign friend Lion is celebrating Tuesdays and coconuts, and she likes Thursdays, so they'll just celebrate those. Lion is a masterful party host, producing luscious coconut-frosted cakes. On another occasion, Lion is celebrating orange and yellow; Audrey likes purple, so the pair have fun making streamers and a jaunty party hat in those three colors. One day, a forlorn Lion doesn't have anything to celebrate because "today is just an ordinary day." Now it's Audrey's turn to spread some cheer. She plans a celebration in honor of ordinary days, monkeys (Lion likes them), and lions. The duo play with confetti, then enjoy a game of "monkeys and lions," followed by hide-and-seek, before striking up some music on toy instruments. Wyatt's text shows an appreciation of both the drollness and profundity of children's thinking, and the story's message about appreciating the little, everyday things is welcome and timely. Children may be inspired to re-create Audrey and Lion's music jamboree, make confetti poppers, and paint pictures for their own guests of honor. Ainslie's illustrations, rendered in pencil and gentle watercolors, are airy and sweet, communicating a sense of childlike joy and lightsomeness.
A charmer that reminds readers to cultivate simple pleasures, recognize life's commonplace gifts, and enjoy a little cake. (Picture book. 3-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Wyatt, Edwina: SOMETIMES CAKE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688199537/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3b488962. Accessed 29 July 2025.
Sometimes Cake
Edwina Wyatt, illus. by Tamsin Ainslie. Candlewick, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1781-0
Pale-skinned Audrey has doll-like rosy cheeks and yellow hair, and she’s not startled when she meets a golden lion standing on its hind legs holding a purple balloon. “Is it your birthday?” she asks politely. “Sometimes,” Lion replies, “but not today.” It’s surely someone’s birthday, they agree, “so they sang a little song and gave three cheers.” Next time they meet, they share a cake to celebrate coconuts, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and the next time, have a party to salute “Orange mostly... Also yellow.” When Lion has a low moment, Audrey notices and invents a special celebration just for him. Pencil-and-watercolor spreads by Ainslie are light and soft and elegantly composed. Australia-based creators Wyatt and Ainslie pack in all the things that make parties special: a cake with cherries on top, party crowns, balloons, and confetti. Much is worth feting in this sprightly tale, and the atmosphere of gentle anarchy has only one rule: friends ought to notice when friends aren’t feeling their best, and try to give them what will make them happy. Ages 2–5. (Jan.)