Hi everyone!
I’ve decided that occasionally I’m going to do some author features here on the Book Basket, and this month is our first one. This month I’m talking about Mem Fox, who you might know from her most popular titles, the children’s classics Possum Magic and Time for Bed.
Mem is from Australia, but she spent a good part of her young life in Africa and England. She calls herself a teacher first and an author second, but she has published over forty books in the span of her writing career. You can read more about her and see photos here on her website. After reading more about her, I put her autobiography on my list, if only because of the title alone: Dear Mem Fox, I Have Read All Your Books, Even the Pathetic Ones.
Here are some books you might enjoy from Mem:
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes: This is a book for the very youngest readers — probably better said, for our listeners! It’s a board book, and it explores the differences of babies born all around the world. The babies on the pages have different skin tones and different ways of living, but they all have ten little fingers and ten little toes.
Roly Poly: In our angelic home, siblings always got along. (*cough*) But maybe the kids in your house have a hard time being friends. If so, they will find kinship in this book. Roly Poly is the oldest polar bear, who does not enjoy the sudden appearance of a sibling. This book is worth picking up just for the amazing illustrations, which are photographs of needle-felted characters. The attention to detail is so lovely.
Hattie and the Fox: this will be a favorite for those children who are in the repetition phase. The plot builds on itself page after page, repeating lines, as the story progresses to reveal a fox hiding in the bushes. The ending always makes me laugh: “And they were all so surprised that none of them said anything for a very long time.”
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge: I saved this for last because it’s a favorite. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (named for Mem Fox’s father) is a small boy who lives next door to a retirement home. When he finds out that one of the residents, Miss Nancy (named for Mem Fox’s mother), is losing her memory, he gathers up small tokens to help her remember. This book is an absolute treasure.
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!