Pip & Zoe’s Amazing Adventures
Come and meet Jemima the Gibbon, Sukey the Goose and more!
Set in Indonesia in the 1970s and 80s ‘Pip & Zoe’s Amazing Adventures’ is a collection of short stories inspired by true events.
What started out as requests for ‘stories from your mouth’ from the author’s children, almost a decade later, we are thrilled to present to you the first collection of stories of Pip and Zoe Cottew’s childhood in Indonesia, exquisitely illustrated by Cassia Whitton.
Each of these stories are heartfelt love letters to the author’s childhood in Indonesia and the menagerie of animals with whom she grew up.
Our exquisite water colour illustrations, by Cassia Whitton, that have brought ‘Pip & Zoe’s Amazing Adventures’ to life, each took between two and three weeks to paint.
With over 30 illustrations included in our collection of stories, that’s over 18 months of delicate work! We are exploring the ways in which we can share them with you through the development of products and an online shop. Please sign up to our newsletter so that we can keep you posted.
About the Author - Zoe Cottew
Zoe Cottew
Zoe Cottew’s childhood in 70s and 80s Indonesia inspired her debut collection of short stories for children, ‘Pip & Zoe’s Amazing Adventures’.
Growing up with a menagerie of animals, including Jemima the Gibbon, exploring the Thousand Islands in the Java Sea, making fairy gardens in the tea plantations and digging hephalump traps in the sands of Carita Beach, resulted in a life time of travel and adventure. Zoe has lived in Indonesia, England, France, East Timor, Jordan and Australia.
Zoe is a full time mother to her three gorgeous children, Astrid, Archie and Niamh, Spencer the groodle and her ever growing collection of animals.
“A lovingly written collection of exotic childhood adventures. Zoe's stories are so vivid I felt like I had actually lived them myself.”
—ADAM HILLS
Comedian and Radio and Television Presenter
“A beautifully realised love letter to an idyllic upbringing, complete with stunningly evocative illustrations. Everyone should be gifted a childhood like Zoe's. Share this instant classic with your kids”
—STEPHEN CURRY
Actor, Writer, Fishing Enthusiast
“Amazing adventures indeed as the world, and especially the natural world, unfolds before Pip and Zoe. It's so important to be curious and their curiosity is rewarded in some extraordinary settings.”
—JIM DARBY
Author and journalist with the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald
About the Illustrator - Cassia Whitton
Cassia Whitton
From the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Cassia Whitton’s water colour illustrations bring to life the stories in ‘Pip & Zoe’s Amazing Adventures’.
In 2020 at 17 years of age, she began painting prize winning pet portraits which captured public attention.
With her mastery of the artist’s brush, Cassia has since become an Archibald entrant and full-time illustrator, bridging the gap between words and visuals, evoking emotions and sparking imaginations.