Children’s book author Gus Gordan (Somewhere Else, Herman and Rosie) stopped by the Goodhew Research Centre (Library) recently as part of our Junior School Book Week celebrations. Gus presented a motivating and inspiring talk about life as an author and his love of books. After growing up in the country, then moving to Sydney to study art Gus discovered his passion for children’s books. 

Working in multimedia, he writes and illustrates each of his books. Each story is character oriented and uses personality to drive the story. Gus also taught the Junior students a new word: “Anthropomorphism”. Using anthropomorphic characters engages young readers and makes it easier to cover sensitive topics. 

Gus is a big advocate of picture books and believes that often they are abandoned in favour of chapter books too early. He fully believes in the importance and power of short form stories and the complex relationships between text and illustrations.