August 14, 2009

Children's Writer Mem Fox

Our next-door neighbours were having a clear-out this week, and found a copy of a book they thought we might be interested in. Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild! is a delightful little picture book about a pesky little girl and a mom who loses her cool. Spoiler alert: happy endings in sight. We love it, and I’m quite happy that through this book, I’ve discovered its author, Mem Fox too. She’s an Australian writer of 33 children’s books and a literacy educator as well. Her excellent website features her full bibliography, biographical information, and lots of other fun stuff, including articles and addresses she’s written for parents and teachers about promoting a passion for reading, including “Ten read-aloud commandments”, “If I Were Queen of the World (…on how to read before school)”, and “Winning the War Between Books and Television” (which acknowledges that television is an excellent medium for turning children onto books). Fascinating stuff, all of it, and because I’m so glad to have found it, I wanted to share it with you.