Fox, Mem (1946-…), is a popular Australian author of picture books. Her first picture book, Possum Magic (1983), became the best-selling picture book in Australian literature. Fox’s picture books have won praise for their humor and their vivid descriptions of the rich variety of Australian animal life, food, and landscapes.
The two main characters in Possum Magic are Grandma Poss and Hush. Grandma Poss has made Hush invisible to protect Hush from the dangers of the Australian bush (remote countryside). But now Hush wants to be visible again. The story describes their adventures as they travel throughout Australia searching for the secret to restoring Hush’s visibility.
Fox has written more than 45 other picture books. They include Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (1984), Koala Lou (1988), Sophie (1989), Time for Bed (1993), Tough Boris (1994), Wombat Divine (1995), Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild! (2000), The Magic Hat (2002), Where Is the Green Sheep? (2004), Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (2008), Hello Baby! (2009), Tell Me About Your Day Today (2012), Baby Bedtime (2013), and Nellie Belle (2016).
Fox has written several books for adults on the importance of reading to children, notably Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever (2001). She also has devoted much of her professional career to promoting literacy.
Merrion Frances Partridge was born in Melbourne on March 5, 1946. She was raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where her parents were missionaries. She studied in England in the late 1960’s and married Malcolm Fox, a teacher, in 1969. Fox earned a B.Ed. degree in 1979 from the Sturt College of Advanced Education (now part of Flinders University), where she lectured in the School of Education until 1997. She wrote Mem’s the Word (1989), an autobiography for adults that was published in the United States as Dear Mem Fox (1992). She also wrote Memories: An Autobiography (1992) for children.
