An artist from Cardigan has once again turned her hand to illustration for a picture book which follows a day in the life of two children on the autistic spectrum.

Hannah Rounding has beautifully illustrated Through the Eyes of Us by Jon Roberts.

The accessible, colourful book is a sequel to Through the Eyes of Me, which was written by the author when his four-year-old daughter Kya was first diagnosed with severe autism.

In the second book of the series, Kya is now going to school and has a best friend, Martha, who is also on the autistic spectrum but expresses herself very differently.

Whilst Kya is quiet in class, Martha is talkative and asks lots of questions. Both enjoy the sensation of eating, but Martha doesn’t understand that she can eat too much. Both like a bedtime routine, but whilst Kya can keep going until late at night, Martha knows when she is tired and takes herself to bed.

This beautifully observed book is a wonderful testament of friendship as well as an excellent tool to teach children and adults about autism and that no two children on the autistic spectrum are the same, and Hannah was delighted to bring the girls to life.

Recalling how she got involved with the book, Hannah said: “The author, Jon, advertised for an illustrator for the first book and I applied.

“I received the text and create my illustrations from that. For this book I also asked for some visual prompts and pictures of the girls – of their clothes and things like that.

“I used some sunglasses, a pair of striped leggings, a little blue bow and a pet tortoise in the book. All of those are real.”

She went on: “I have really enjoyed illustrating these books, following Kya from three to six years old. It was really interesting to work out how to draw her three years older.”

As well as illustrating books, Hannah also works as a support worker supporting adults with additional learning needs and autism, and as a freelance artist with various local community groups and charities, using art as a tool for social change and improved wellbeing."

See this week’s south papers for the full feature, available in shops and as a digital edition now