It’s not simply that kids’ culture has improved since I was young. Across stage, screen and cinema, grownup offerings pale in comparison to those aimed at my son, writes Catherine Shoard
Written by Mem Fox with illustrations by Judy Horacek, Green Sheep was recently voted third-best Australian picture book of all time by Guardian readers
The doyenne of Australian picture books talks about her creative process, the ‘wild and woolly’ place that inspired Magic Beach – and how a favourite idea was sketched on an aeroplane sick bag
After being rejected by nine publishers, the author’s first book went on to sell 5m copies, with readers immediately connecting to its depiction of Australian foods, animals and place names
Jackie French was used to the quirks of wild animal behaviour – and then she met a carrot-mad wombat with an appetite for destruction. A bestseller was born