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John
lives with his partner and their daughter in the
Victorian bush in an idiosyncratic, solar-powered
house they built themselves. He believes that
information books can be as exciting and adventurous
as fiction. The books that caught his imagination
as a child were about things that had really happened
- about exotic places that really existed: explorers
and adventurers, ships and trains, mountains,
deserts and icy wastes.
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As
a result, his books are aimed at kids, who like
himself, find the world of the imagination slightly
unconvincing, but who can be drawn into reading
books by the drama of real life. John's
fascination with practical and traditional technology,
individuality, tool and nature have inspired a
number of fantatsic books.
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These
include; HOMEMADE HOUSES,
THE CRUELLEST PLACE ON EARTH
- STORIES FROM ANTARCTICA, GOLD!,
THE FIRST FLEET, PAPERCHASE,
A HOME AMONG THE GUM TREES,
EXPLORERS OF AUSTRALIA,
KIMBERLEY WARRIOR,
WHO'S RUNNING THIS COUNTRY?,
FISHING FOR ISLANDS,
BUILDING THE SYDNEY HARBOUR
BRIDGE, THE STATE
OF THE PLANET, THE
MIGHTY MURRAY and ANIMAL
ARCHITECTS.
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John has
won the CBC Eve Pownall Award three times (1996, 1998
& 2000), he's been shortlisted an additional six times
(1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 & 2004), and he's also
been shortlisted for the WA Premier's Children's Book
Awards (1998) and The Australian Awards for Excellence
in Educational Publishing (1998).
John's books
are characterised by the superb draftmanship of his
drawings. His texts, with their simple conversational
tone, are both richly informative and accessible to
young readers. Children turn to them for their intrinsic
interest as well as for school assignments. He
is happy to give talks about his work and also takes
interesting workshops helping students see the steps
to successful sketching.
For older
readers and adults, John has written THE
IMCOMPARABLE CAPTAIN CADELL. He is currently
working on two books; a children's book on Australian
prisons and another book for adults on 'Pakeha-Maori'
- based on the life of an Australian who went to live
with the New Zealand Maori's in the 1830s.
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