Interviews

A Message from the Author

Hi, there! I'm one half of the team (the writer) that created Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and I want to say a big thank you for loving my new book enough to look me up on the B&N.com website. I love the book too! I'm thrilled that it appeared on the bestseller lists in its very first week of publication and that it's still there as I type this in late October, 2008.

What's the story behind this story? One day in 2005 I found myself in Boston talking to a large group of parents with many differences: some were black, some white, some brown, some well-to-do, some poor, some young, some older. Their children, and in particular their babies, were universally adorable and s the parents bent over the table afterwards as hey were having their books signed, I played with the babies' fingers, marveling at their exquisite tiny-ness. I left Boston late on that snowy Friday afternoon to begin my very long plane journey from Boston to my home in Adelaide, South Australia. In a dreamy state, as I dozed on the plane, I recalled the similarities of the peoples of the world, the tiny fingers of every single child, and once again wished we could focus what we all had in common instead of the differences and hatreds that divide us. The book appeared in my brain before I was even fully awake.

Aside from writing, my other passion is begging parents to read to their children from an early age, for the huge fun of it, let alone for the untold benefits it bestows, both socially and educationally. My careful advice and noisy opinions on this subject can be found between the covers of my book for parents: Reading Magic: How Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever.

Would it be outrageously cheeky of me to suggest that parents begin to read to their babies as early as possible, starting with Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes? The rhythm of the words and the delight of the artwork will, I hope, entrance every little child in the world, as well as bring to their tired parents a certain kind of quiet and loving calm.

Cheers!

Mem Fox