A Day in the Life of Me

Biography: John Marsden grew up in three states of Australia, and now lives in Victoria. John loved school so much that he started his own. Or, he hated school so much that he started his own in 2006 so that other kids wouldn’t have to go through the suffering he experienced. Candlebark is in a beautiful forest near Hanging Rock, and is John’s proudest achievement. John has also published more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, which was made into a highly successful movie, Looking for Trouble, Staying Alive in Year Five, Creep Street and Cool School. John is one of Australia’s biggest selling and most awarded authors.

Craig Smith has an excellent track record as a children’s book illustrator. He first teamed with Gary Crew to provide a remarkable interpretation of Troy Thompson’s Excellent Peotry Book and Troy Thompson’s Radical Prose Folio. His more recent awards include CBC Honour Book: Younger Readers (1999) for Bob the Builder and the Elves, Shortlisted CBC Book of the Year: Younger Readers for Billy the Punk (1996) and Shortlisted CBC for Not Again, Dad by Thurley Fowler (1995). Craig has also recently illustrated the Paul Jennings titles: The Cabbage Patch Fib and The Cabbage Patch War, and Sniffy the Sniffer Dog (Lothian Books, 2003) in Lothian’s Start-Ups series.