"Children can learn to read easily without being taught, by being read to, by playing games with words, and by falling head over heels in love with books." Mem Fox
Mem Fox has a passion for teaching, writing, and literacy. She has been writing children's books since 1983. In the last decade, she has also written her autobiography and several books for teachers, as well as Reading Magic (compare prices), a book about the impact of reading aloud to children that focuses on parents and caregivers of babies and very young children. In all, Fox has written over 30 books for children and adults.
A Brief Look at Her Early Years
Mem (Merrion) Partridge was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946, but she grew up in Zimbabwe, Africa, where her parents were missionaries. At the age of nineteen, she moved to London, England to study drama at Rose Bruford College. After marrying Malcolm Fox she and her husband moved to Adelaide in South Australia. They have lived and worked there since 1970.
Mem Fox, The Writer
In Australia, Fox continued her studies. While enrolled in a children's literature class, one of her assignments was to write a children's book. Out of that experience (and following many revisions and rejections) came her first picture book, Possum Magic (compare prices), which was published in 1983. Possum Magic remains the best selling picture book in Australia.
Many of Fox's books have also been published in the United States. The one that has been most popular is Time for Bed (compare prices), a gentle rhyming bedtime story. Her books are readily available in both U.S. bookstores and libraries. When I checked my local library, I found more than a half dozen of her picture books. Some of her books have also been translated into Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Hebrew, Spanish, and Portuguese. Many of her books feature rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, and almost all are geared for young children. Several of her books, including Whoever You Are (compare prices), emphasize peace and equality.
Mem Fox, The Teacher and International Literacy Consultant
From the time her daughter Cholë was a baby, Fox read to her. When Fox realized the impact reading aloud had on her daughter's learning to read, it had a career changing impact on her, and she moved from teaching college drama to learning more about, and then teaching, literacy. Fox has said that teaching is her first love and that writing comes second.
In 1996, she took early retirement from the School of Humanities at Flinders University where she served as associate professor in literacy studies in order to write and consult full-time. She has served as a literacy consultant in a number of countries in addition to the United States and Australia, including Taiwan, Guam, South Africa, Singapore, Uganda, and Tanzania. Her work has been recognized with a number of honors. If you haven't read any of Mem Fox's books, I highly recommend you do so. For more of her views on the power of reading aloud, read my review of her book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever
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