Who am I?

Hello! My name is Rachel Schmidlechner. I am the author of “Read and Rhyme with Brown Owl”, a series of rhyming books for children. I also create teaching resources to accompany the books.

I have been teaching English at a primary school in Austria for 20 years and created the books based on my teaching experience.

Here are some interesting facts about me:

Many of my ideas & rhymes come to me whilst out on forest walks.
I love romance novels and watching romcoms.
I am learning to play the flute.

Where am I from?

I grew up in Devon, England and since 2006 I have been living in a beautiful part of the Danube valley called the Wachau in Austria with my husband and three children.

What's my background?

I studied foreign languages (German/French/Spanish) in Sheffield and was awarded my BA honours degree in 2002. I then spent two years working as an English Language Assistant in Germany and Austria, helping students learn English as a second language. After that, I returned to England and completed my teacher training for German and French. I taught at a comprehensive school in England but then decided to move to Austria in 2006 to be with my husband.

I have been teaching English at a primary school in Krems, Austria ever since. As a native speaker, I have also worked at various kindergartens, introducing children to English at an early age, and I have taught English to adults.

What inspired me to write Brown Owl?

I loved creating little rhymes as a child and when my own children were younger, I really enjoyed reading picture book to them. I started writing my Brown Owl books to encourage children to listen to and also read in both a foreign language and their own. My aim is to make English more accessible to and enjoyable for young learners and to help teachers plan multi-sensory, interesting and engaging English lessons.

Who am I?

Hello! I’m Nadja Grace Bodner, the illustrator of the rhyming picture books “Read and Rhyme with Brown Owl”. I bring the stories and characters to life also illustrate the English rhymes, sayings and chants that we share on Instagram.

I discovered that I had quite a talent for drawing and painting at a young age. I clearly inherited this skill from my British mother, who is an artist herself.

Here are some interesting facts about me:

I have two cats.
I love to knit.
I've recently discovered 'Weird Girl Fiction' and like it.

Where am I from?

I grew up in Lower Austria. My mother is from England and my father is Austrian, so I was raised bilingually. I have been living in Vienna for over ten years.

What is my background?

After finishing my graphics and communication design studies at Die Graphische in Vienna in 2017, I took a course in designing and illustrating books for children in 2018, which I really enjoyed. I now work as a freelance illustrator and have illustrated several story books for various clients, including some for the Viennese publisher Obelisk.

I also work as a graphic designer and am enrolled as a part-time student.