IT might only have 190 words and have taken more than 12 months to write, but all the young audience wanted to know on Friday was: where was the green sheep?
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Renowned children’s author Mem Fox visited Hamilton to read the award-winning book Where Is The Green Sheep, which she co-wrote with illustrator Judy Horacek, to more than 600 preschoolers and primary school pupils.
Fox’s appearance was part of the Woolly West Fest, a creative arts festival which this year celebrated Mem’s best-selling book about the unusual coloured sheep. The festival leads into Sheepvention which begins tomorrow at the Hamilton Showgrounds.
Where is the Green Sheep? is Fox’s second most famous book after Possum Magic and received the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year 2005 — Early Childhoood and Speech Pathology Australia Award in the young children category.
Fox read Where is the Green Sheep? and other of her own favourite titles including The Magic Hat, Possum Magic and Koala Lou, to captivated children in two separate sessions yesterday, with children reciting parts of the popular book off-by-heart.
The children also had the chance to ask Fox questions following the readings.
On Thursday evening Fox also hosted a booked-out presentation to parents at the Hamilton library on a theme close to her heart — the importance and benefit of reading aloud to young children.
Woolly West Fest co-creator Naomi Turner said as an added coup for the fledgling festival, Ms Horacek was scheduled to run two separate storytelling and illustration sessions at Sheepvention.
“We felt quite amazed when Mem leapt at the opportunity to come and be part of our festival, but having Judy here as well is just the proverbial green icing on the cake,” Ms Turner said.
“These ladies are giants in the world of children’s literature, and it is testament to the incredible creative work going on across our community at the moment that we have been able to attract talent of this calibre.”