Mem Fox was born in Australia, grew up in Africa, studied drama in England, and returned to Adelaide, Australia, in 1970. She was an associate professor of education at Flinders University in Adelaide, where she taught teachers for 24 years. She has written more than 40 books for children, including Possum Magic, Time for Bed, Whoever You Are, The Magic Hat, and, most recently, Two Little Monkeys and Tell Me About Your Day Today. She has also written several books for adults, including her best-selling book for parents, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. Her picture book Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes was on the New York Times best-seller list for 18 weeks in 2008–2009, and its Italian-language edition won best book for young children at the 2010 Turin International Book Festival. Her books have been translated into 19 languages.

Meghan Dombrink-Green: Have you found that adults—parents and teachers—respond differently to your books than children do?

Mem Fox: Yes, they do. Adults may love the book for totally different reasons from the reasons that the child loves it. For example, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge makes adults sob, but children love it for completely different reasons. It’s about a clever little boy who does great things in the neighborhood, and he’s very pleased with himself, and he finds an old lady’s memory. The adult audience is thinking about it as when parents lose their memories. They just go to pieces with that book. The book appeals to readers on two different levels.