Written by Surbhi Gupta |Updated: January 3, 2019 8:10:46 am
Australian writer-illustrator Leigh Hobbs on disappearing libraries and his latest book
Australian writer-illustrator Leigh Hobbs was the Australian Children’s Laureate for the term 2016-17, when he travelled all over the country to promote reading, stories and creativity.
As a little boy, all Leigh Hobbs wanted to do was draw. He loved English history too, and the stories of castles, knights, battles and pirates. Little Leigh grew up to live his dreams and become an art teacher. But it was as a writer-illustrator of children’s books that he found his calling. The Melbourne-born artist is a bestselling author of more than 20 books, which include the Old Tom series, about a mangy cat, Mr Chicken Goes to Paris and Horrible Harriet.
His characters are no goody-two shoes, and often run into scrapes; and his stories are refreshingly low on didactic intent.
Hobbs was the Australian Children’s Laureate for the term 2016-17, when he travelled all over the country to promote reading, stories and creativity. “I met a lot of teachers, librarians and children. In Australia, England and America, libraries in schools are disappearing one after another. Many schools think that books are not necessary, and internet is enough. But children still love to read books, especially picture books,” says Hobbs, who was on his first trip to India to attend the Bookaroo children’s literature festival last month.
Picture books are important for children, he says. “They develop a child’s understanding and perspective. But not everything ought to be about learning, kids also deserve to have fun,” says Hobbs, 65, who grew up in the country town of Bairnsdale in Victoria. He studied at the art school of Caulfield Institute of Technology, now known as Monash University.
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