An Interview With Children's Book Author/Illustrator, Anita Sachlikidis

In a clearing in the woods by the school sits a strange apparatus that looks a lot like an old oven. But Archie knows it’s no ordinary appliance—it is a time portal! When he spots a sinister figure manipulating its controls, Archie uncovers the villain’s shocking plan: to unleash dinosaurs from the distant past to cause chaos in the present. But how can Archie stop this evil scheme? He’s just a kid!

Fear not! Archie is a kid, but he’s a kid with a secret weapon! His chickens! Nobody but Archie and his friend Josh know that Archie’s chickens have superpowers. Archie and Josh craft a plan. Then, Archie dons his superhero costume and with his courageous hens at his side, leaps into action!

Archie and his superchickens are the creation of Australian author, Anita Sachlikidis. They made their first appearance in Archie and the Accidental Chicken Heros. Since that book was published there has been a sequel; The Toxic Toads. And Anita reports that there is a third Archie book (The Ranch) in the works.

In addition to the tales of Archie and his chickens, Anita has written four books in her “Dragon Pets” series.

Earlier this year, Anita reached out to me after she ran across my review of her first Archie book in my 2024 end-of-the-year book reviews. We exchanged emails and I was delighted when she agreed to an interview.

Since fellow chicken blogger, Claire Dineen recently posted an interview with Anita over at Bitchin’ Chickens, and since Claire and I have shared material in the past, I decided that it made sense for me to publish Claire’s interview with Anita here, rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel. And, with permission from both Claire and Anita, that’s what I’ve done.

Here are Claire and Anita discussing books, kids, and creating art. And chickens, of course!

Anita started the interview by introducing herself.

Anita Sachlikidis: I’m a children’s book author-illustrator. My professional background is in I.T. but after starting a family I decided to make a career change to writing. I write stories for middle-grade and younger readers and, as of February, have six published works. I live in Cairns, Australia with my wonderful husband, two high-energy kids and a small flock of quirky, free-range chickens.

Bitchin’ Chickens: How does that influence your work?

AS: Right now, my children are at the perfect age to enjoy the books I create, making them an ideal audience. I draw inspiration from their day-to-day activities as well as the funny things that they say and do. There’s nothing more rewarding than creating stories that they and their friends enjoy reading. The same goes for my chickens – they’re always getting into mischief and their entertaining antics usually make their way into my stories. My debut book “Archie and the Accidental Chicken Heroes” was inspired by my real-life chickens, who are now forever immortalized through their Super Chicken alter egos.

BC: What’s your history with creating art and how has it changed over time?

AS: As a child I was always reading, writing stories and drawing. I studied art at school and loved to share original cartoon drawings with my friends. After I began my career as a writer, I was keen to rekindle these long-dormant artistic skills to capture the characters of my stories in my style. To do this, I needed to upskill and complete some courses so I could take my illustrations from simple pencil sketches to print-ready digital format. Chickens are by far my favorite thing to draw and I love creating artworks that depict their amusing behaviors and individual personalities.

BC: What work is most fulfilling?

AS: As someone who loves chickens, being able to work chicken characters into my writing and illustrating is super fun. When I’m looking for creative inspiration, I take a lot of chicken photos and spend time just sitting and watching my girls in the backyard. Bringing chicken personalities to life through my sketches as well as creating imaginary chicken adventures is very satisfying.

BC: What memorable responses have you had to your work?

AS: I’ve had some wonderful feedback from parents and children about how much they’ve enjoyed my books, including appreciation from the other side of the world. I think chicken enthusiasts find great appeal in seeing chickens featured in leading roles. My children and our friends who are familiar with our flock also get a kick out of seeing the chicken characters brought to life in the books I write.

BC: What motivates you to create?

AS: I’m very passionate about the benefits of literacy in children and the importance of reading – both independently and being read to. As a writer, I try to create books that are engaging and entertaining – stories that encourage children to start reading and keep reading.

I grew up on a farm and chickens were a big part of my childhood. I took care of the entire flock, raised chickens from babies and even cared for a special blind hen named Big Black One. After our children were born, I reintroduced chickens to our lives, and over the years we have had many wonderful feathered girls join our family. We love them and care for them, and they reward us with chicken cuddles (often), early morning wake-ups (too often) and eggs (not often enough).

While the make-up of our flock varies, some of our girls over the years have included our big whistling Silver Sussex (Olive), grumpy Wyandottes (Rosie and Skittle), nosy, bossy ISA Browns (Pinkie, Binnie, Honey, Coco, Lola and Lolo), silkies (the Smalls) and finally, our round little Pekin/Bantam Orpington babies (Mimi and Pip).

BC: How have they impacted your life and inspired your work?

AS: Chickens make fantastic pets. My chickens see themselves as part of the family and have very clear and definite expectations when it comes to their food and attention. Their individual personalities and traits are great to build on when creating characters and storylines. And if anyone is having a difficult time or has had a bad day, sitting quietly with a chicken under one arm always seems to make things better. They help my children work through strong emotions and big feelings and provide a calming influence for our entire household. With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that chickens play a prominent role in my work, and I’m always excited to spread the word about the joys of keeping these wonderful creatures.