From Publishers Weekly
Charming and candid, Australian children's book author Fox reminisces, in her mid-40s, about her eventful life. Despite the title, the book is more about Fox than her books, though fans should find it interesting. A child of Australian missionaries, the author grew up in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she met an English teacher whose ``passion bulldozed any resistance we might have had'' to literature, and she developed her ear for language from the Bible. After studying drama in England, she and her ``brutally English'' husband moved to Australia in 1970. There Fox got to know her aged but vital grandfather; she concludes that her books, which often feature bonds between the young and old, give her the grandparents she lacked as a child. Fox wrote Possum Magic (which has since sold more than a half million copies worldwide) as a class assignment and details the myriad decisions such a short text required. She doesn't avoid using long words in her books, suggesting that children can understand more than adults think. A passionate educator, Fox has become an advocate of the ``whole language'' approach of teaching reading through meaningful contexts rather than as a rote act. Author tour. Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
The internationally acclaimed children’s book writer, on herself and on the art of writing and publishing children’s books.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The internationally acclaimed children’s book writer, on herself and on the art of writing and publishing children’s books.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Charming and candid, Australian children's book author Fox reminisces, in her mid-40s, about her eventful life. Despite the title, the book is more about Fox than her books, though fans should find it interesting. A child of Australian missionaries, the author grew up in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she met an English teacher whose ``passion bulldozed any resistance we might have had'' to literature, and she developed her ear for language from the Bible. After studying drama in England, she and her ``brutally English'' husband moved to Australia in 1970. There Fox got to know her aged but vital grandfather; she concludes that her books, which often feature bonds between the young and old, give her the grandparents she lacked as a child. Fox wrote Possum Magic (which has since sold more than a half million copies worldwide) as a class assignment and details the myriad decisions such a short text required. She doesn't avoid using long words in her books, suggesting that children can understand more than adults think. A passionate educator, Fox has become an advocate of the ``whole language'' approach of teaching reading through meaningful contexts rather than as a rote act. Author tour. (Mar.)

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman