1. Animals
2. Art techniques
3. Book design
4. Emotions
5. Family
6. Friendship
7. Grief
8. Happiness
9. Home
10. Music
11. Narrative techniques
12. Rural life
13. Sadness
14. Social life and customs
15. Trauma
16. Visual literacy
17. War
18. WW1

This beautifully illustrated book is inspired by the song of the same title, ‘Along the road to Gundagai’, composed by Jack O’Hagan in 1922. Andrew McLean takes the song, which is familiar to many Australians, and tells the story of the young men who went to WW1, many never to return.  McLean used historical source material including the artwork of WW1 war artists, to create the illustrations. This book is McLean’s first use of digital technology to create artworks. The illustrations are created with charcoal and watercolour on paper and then scanned and coloured on and iPad using Sketch Club. 

The illustrations make stark comparison between the soldier’s experiences of war with the idyllic home-life the soldiers enjoyed prior to the war. The artworks depicting the war front are both terrifying and sad, particularly when contrasted with the depictions of happy memories of Gundagai creating a moving narrative.

The book is a cleverly devised format that evokes both strong emotional responses and refection on the experience and impact of war.

The last page of the book is a dedication to McLean’s parents, particularly his father who served in World War I.

1. Aussie Reviews, 19 November 2014. Sally Murphy reviews ’Along the road to Gundagai’ https://aussiereviews.com/2014/11/along-the-road-to-gundagai-by-jack-ohagan-andrew-mclean/
2. Kids’ Book Review 11 August 2014. Susan Whelan reviews ‘Along the road to Gundagai’ http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2014/08/review-along-road-to-gundagai.html
3. ReadPlus 11 February 2014. Fran Knight reviews ‘Along the road to Gundagai’ https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/along-the-road-to-gundagai-by-jack-ohagan
4. National Film and Sound Archive, Along the Road to Gundagai resources and film https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/jack-ohagan-road-gundagai-composer
5. Scholastic, Teacher Notes https://resource.scholastic.com.au/resourcefiles/Teacher_Notes/8276722_36894.pdf
6. Lamont, Teacher Notes https://www.lamontbooks.com.au/media/14415/Along-the-Road-to-Gundagai-Teacher-Notes.pdf
7. Jack O’Hagan, composer notes https://www.jackohagan.com.au/
8. Australian Screen, Along the Road to Gundagai, Notes https://aso.gov.au/titles/music/along-the-road-to-gundagai/notes/