Liz Murray (text) and Walid Serageldine (illustrator), Gus, Berbay Publishing, January 2024, 40 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922610645
Gus is tale of an unlikely friendship between Gus; a crocodile from the reptile enclosure, and a man named Edward.
Gus and Edward forge a strong bond and friendship when discovering they share a birthday. Throughout the years Edward visited Gus on their birthday, until one day he doesn’t come.
When Edward doesn’t show for his annual birthday visit, Gus decides to find out why. He soon discovers that Edward is in a nursing home and the walk to the Zoo is too much for his tired, old body.
Thanks to Edward’s kind nurse, Edward and Gus can continue their friendship with the nursing home residents having weekly visits to the Zoo.
This story carefully explores aging and its impacts on relationships and life’s events. The story captures the emotion of aging friendships but has an uplifting ending.
Reviewed by Raquel Mayman
