Mem Fox has written over 38 books for adults and children including
Possum Magic, which has sold over three million copies and is the
bestselling picture book ever in Australia. Mem has been presented
with many awards including an AM in the 1993 Australia Day Honours
for services to the cultural life of Australia; an SA Great Award
for Literature in 2001; the Prime Minister's Centenary Medal in
2003; and she was shortlisted for the Australian of the Year in
2004. She worked as an Associate Professor of Literacy Studies in
the School of Education at Flinders University, South Australia for
twenty-four years and is now an international literacy
consultant.
Mem's books with Penguin include Where is the Green Sheep?,
Hunwick's Egg, A Particular Cow, Where The Giant Sleeps, Ten Little
Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Hello Baby!, The Goblin and the Empty
Chair, A Giraffe in the Bath and most recently Baby Bedtime. She
lives in Adelaide, Australia.
'Mem Fox's books are like a warm blanket; they have a way of making
the world seem a little cosier.' Sunday Age MARLA FRAZEE has
illustrated many enormously popular picture books. She lives in
Pasadena, California.
"A most successful team effort."--The Horn Book "Lively
illustrations sparkle . . . [This book] should prove a soothing
balm for exasperated moms and their busy little bees."--Kirkus
Reviews "Harriet . . . is a thoroughly engaging character, one
whose acquaintance readers will be delighted to make."--The New
York Times Book Review
Harriet is what grown-ups refer to as a handful. Through the course of a day, the youngster, perhaps accidentally, knocks over her juice, drips paint from her picture onto the carpet and slides off her chair at lunchtime, taking the tablecloth with her. Her mother, who "didn't like to yell," handles each incident with good-humored restraint: "Harriet, my darling child. Harriet, you'll drive me wild. Harriet, sweetheart, what are we to do?" But at naptime, Harriet gets on her mother's last nerve when she intentionally rips open a feather pillow: "Then Harriet's mother began to yell./ She yelled and yelled and yelled." It's a situation that may well ring true for every family, and Fox (Sleepy Bears), in a rhythm well known to her fans, resolves it with good sense and warmth (mother and daughter apologize to each other, share a giggle and embark on clean-up together). Visually, the book never strikes a false note: Frazee's (The Seven Silly Eaters) handsome domestic vignettes, framed by generous white space, are realistic and reassuring. All this authenticity, however, adds up to something less than compellingÄthe book ultimately feels more like a parenting article than something children will clamor to hear and see again. Ages 3-7. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
"A most successful team effort."--The Horn Book "Lively illustrations sparkle . . . [This book] should prove a soothing balm for exasperated moms and their busy little bees."--Kirkus Reviews "Harriet . . . is a thoroughly engaging character, one whose acquaintance readers will be delighted to make."--The New York Times Book Review --
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