Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is a 1984 Children's picture book by Mem Fox. It is about a boy, Wilfrid, who helps an elderly friend, Nancy, to regain some of her memory.
 First edition | |
| Author | Mem Fox |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Julie Vivas |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's picture book, poetry |
| Published | 1984 (Omnibus Books) |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 32 (unpaginated) |
| ISBN | 9780949641168 |
| OCLC | 19618469 |
Basis
The name of the boy who is the central character is that of Fox's father, Wilfried Gordon McDonald Partridge, who, with his wife, Nancy, was sent to Zimbabwe as a teaching missionary.[1]
Reception
School Library Journal wrote "The illustrations splashy, slightly hazy watercolors in rosy pastels contrast the boy's fidgety energy with his friends' slow, careful movements and capture the story's warmth and sentiment."[2] Alzheimer's Australia found it "sensitively written".[3] A review by the NYU Langone Medical Center called it "A magnificently written and illustrated story about communication."[4]
Fox herself has noted the politically loaded aspects of the story, in having a white hero, separating the elderly from their families, and having a focus on nuclear families.[1]
References
- Fox, Mem (8 May 1993). Peacock, Scot (ed.). "Politics and Literature: Chasing the "isms" from children's books". Children's Literature Review. 80: 654–658 – via GALE Literature Resource Center.
- "Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge". Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- "Book review - Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge". fightdementia.org.au. Alzheimer's Australia. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- "Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge". medhum.med.nyu.edu. Retrieved 7 December 2016.