AustLit logo
image of person or book cover 6673837669705096761.jpg
This image has been sourced from online
y separately published work icon Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge single work   picture book   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 1984... 1984 Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Young W.G.M.P. wasn't very old but he lived next door to an old people's home and knew all the people there. He enjoyed their company but his particular favourite was Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she too had four names. He tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore Nancy's memory.

Adaptations

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Sandra Eldridge , Paul Stanhope (composer), 2021 single work musical theatre

'There was once a small boy called Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and his house was next door to an old people’s home. He knew all the people who lived there, but his favourite person of all was Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. When Wilfrid finds out that Nancy has lost her memory, he sets out to find out what a memory is…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable ForAC: Year 1 (NSW Stage 1)

Themes

connecting with elderly, friendship, making connections, memory

General Capabilities

Critical and creative thinking, Literacy, Personal and social

Notes

  • Achieved Notable Book status from the American Libraries Association in 1987. Televised as a WBZ-TV play across America, Christmas 1989.
  • Also published in braille and sound recording formats and as a videorecording and a kit with sound cassette and book.
  • Adapted for the puppet show produced by Windmill Performing Arts Company 1 - 20 July 2002, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. Director Neill Gladwin, puppetry director Peter Wilson, dramaturg Verity Laughton, creative producer Cate Fowler.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has Korean, Chinese and Japanese translations.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Adelaide, South Australia,: Omnibus Books , 1984 .
      Extent: [30]p.p.
      Description: col. illus.
      Note/s:
      • Republished several times by Omnibus 1984-1993 with some variations in format.
      ISBN: 0949641162
    • Harmondsworth, Middlesex,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Viking Kestrel ,
      1986 .
      Extent: 28p.
      Description: chiefly col. illus.
      ISBN: 067080990X
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Mem Fox Reads Mem Fox , Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1991 Z838236 1991 selected work children's Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1991
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Mem Fox Reads : Volume Two Mem Fox Reads : Volume 2 Mem Fox , Crows Nest : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1991 Z1017243 1991 selected work picture book children's Crows Nest : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1991
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Classic Magic : Possum Magic and Other Stories Mem Fox , Tullamarine : Bolinda , 2013 20001646 2013 selected work children's fiction 'A selection of storytelling magic from Australia's most successful author for young children.

    'Mem Fox is Australia's most successful author of books for young children. Her first book, Possum Magic, is the highest selling picture book ever in Australia.

    'Classic Magic, narrated by Mem, is a selection of her most popular and beloved stories.' (Publication summary)
    Tullamarine : Bolinda , 2013
    • Gosford, Central Coast, New South Wales,: Scholastic Australia , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 6673837669705096761.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 32p.
      Edition info: 30th Anniversary edition
      ISBN: 9781742990682
    • Norwood, Norwood, Payneham & St Peters area, Adelaide - North / North East, Adelaide, South Australia,: Omnibus Books , 2017 .
      image of person or book cover 6899481119137703269.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1vp.
      Edition info: Big Book
      Note/s:
      • Published: January 2017
      ISBN: 9781743810583
    • Lindfield, Chatswood - Gordon - Castlecrag area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Omnibus Books , 2019 .
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Edition info: 35th anniversary ed.
      ISBN: 9781742994444
Alternative title: Morten Storbjorn Alexander Hansen
Language: Danish
    • Copenhagen,
      c
      Denmark,
      c
      Scandinavia, Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Carlssen ,
      1987 .

Works about this Work

The Picture of Privilege : Examining the Lack of Diverse Characters in 2018 Australian Children’s Picture Books Emily Booth , Rebecca Lim , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Jeunesse : Young People, Texts, Culture , June vol. 14 no. 1 2022; (p. 65-83)

'This article explores the findings from the first “diversity count” of Australian children’s picture books, conducted in 2019 in partnership with advocacy group Voices from the Intersection (VFTI). Specifically, this article explores the eighty-three percent of 2018 Australian children’s picture books that did not feature a marginalized protagonist: namely, those that featured human characters who could not be identified as marginalized in any way, animals, and inhuman protagonists. We propose that the Australian publishing industry, rather than suffering from a “diversity deficit,” instead overrepresents a narrow demographic of human experiences and non-human protagonists. We suggest that the oversaturation of the local children’s picture book market with such similar stories disadvantages all children, who are denied a rich and diverse reading experience, as well as the opportunity to see themselves and their peers depicted. This article provides greater insight into the current debates about diversity and inclusion in children’s media.'(Publication abstract)

The Battle to Raise Indigenous Literacy Cassandra Byrnes , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Sydney Pen Magazine , May 2012; (p. 12-14)
Child's Play Louise Nunn , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 18 August 2007; (p. 14-15)
[Review] Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge 1985 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald (Sydney) , 21 July 1985;

— Review of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book
[Review] Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Belle Y. Alderman , 1985 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 1 May 1985;

— Review of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book
The 1985 Australian Children's Book Awards Margaret Dunkle , 1985 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July no. 72 1985; (p. 8-10)

— Review of Home in the Sky Jeannie Baker , 1984 single work picture book ; Ayu and the Perfect Moon David Cox , 1984 single work picture book ; Arthur Amanda Graham , 1984 single work picture book ; The Angel with a Mouth-Organ Christobel Mattingley , 1984 single work picture book ; The Inch Boy Helen Smith (translator), 1984 single work picture book ; There's a Sea in My Bedroom Margaret Wild , 1984 single work picture book ; The Tree Witches Gwenda Turner , 1983 single work picture book ; Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book ; The True Story of Lilli Stubeck James Aldridge , 1984 single work novel ; Adrift Allan Baillie , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Eleanor, Elizabeth Libby Gleeson , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Papio Victor Kelleher , 1984 single work novel ; Penny Pollard's Letters Robin Klein , 1984 single work correspondence ; Something Special Emily Rodda , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Me and Jeshua Eleanor Spence , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Dancing in the Anzac Deli Nadia Wheatley , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Hating Alison Ashley Robin Klein , 1984 single work novel
[Review] The Tree Witches [et al] 1985 single work review
— Appears in: The National Times , 19-26 July 1985; (p. 35)

— Review of The Tree Witches Gwenda Turner , 1983 single work picture book ; Me and Jeshua Eleanor Spence , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book ; Eleanor, Elizabeth Libby Gleeson , 1984 single work children's fiction ; Papio Victor Kelleher , 1984 single work novel ; Adrift Allan Baillie , 1984 single work children's fiction
Kids Want Adventure with a Good Ending Margaret Dunkle , 1984 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 9 March 1984;

— Review of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book
[Review] Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge [and] Ratbags and Rascals Margaret Dunkle , 1985 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 9 March 1985;

— Review of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book ; Ratbags and Rascals : Funny Stories Robin Klein , 1984 selected work children's fiction
[Review] Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Belle Y. Alderman , 1985 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 1 May 1985;

— Review of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge Mem Fox , 1984 single work picture book
Child's Play Louise Nunn , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 18 August 2007; (p. 14-15)
The Battle to Raise Indigenous Literacy Cassandra Byrnes , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Sydney Pen Magazine , May 2012; (p. 12-14)
The Picture of Privilege : Examining the Lack of Diverse Characters in 2018 Australian Children’s Picture Books Emily Booth , Rebecca Lim , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Jeunesse : Young People, Texts, Culture , June vol. 14 no. 1 2022; (p. 65-83)

'This article explores the findings from the first “diversity count” of Australian children’s picture books, conducted in 2019 in partnership with advocacy group Voices from the Intersection (VFTI). Specifically, this article explores the eighty-three percent of 2018 Australian children’s picture books that did not feature a marginalized protagonist: namely, those that featured human characters who could not be identified as marginalized in any way, animals, and inhuman protagonists. We propose that the Australian publishing industry, rather than suffering from a “diversity deficit,” instead overrepresents a narrow demographic of human experiences and non-human protagonists. We suggest that the oversaturation of the local children’s picture book market with such similar stories disadvantages all children, who are denied a rich and diverse reading experience, as well as the opportunity to see themselves and their peers depicted. This article provides greater insight into the current debates about diversity and inclusion in children’s media.'(Publication abstract)

Last amended 1 Sep 2020 12:36:58
X