Book Review: WILFRID GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fox, Mem. 1989. WILFRID GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller.
ISBN 0916291049

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge lives next door to a senior center and is a good companion of those senior persons. One day he knew his best friend, Miss Nancy, lost her memory from his parents’ conversations and decided to help her to get memory back. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge interviews his senior friends to find definitions of memory from their perspectives and searches things which relate to the definitions to help Miss Nancy.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Cricket, one of popular sport in Australia has a role in forming the national identity which is one of cultural markers that connect to Australian culture in this picture book.

Conversations are a main portion in Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and provide parallel thinking about some concepts between a young child and old people. It is very interesting to know ideas of thinking between two different generations and predict conjectures of children’s interpretations about memory. Fox uses very simple language and easy read words to vividly transmit a young boy’s warmth and sincerity to make an impossible mission come true. She also portrays of each characters by using appropriate adjectives and nouns, such as a voice like a giant. Simple sentences and repeated grammar structures throughout the content is very good language and reading material for young children.

Vivas, the illustrator, uses purely white backgrounds and mild color throughout the illustration which dramatically presents characteristics of each role and provides immense imagination for readers themselves. She portrays old people as a great portrait and half size of the picture for Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge which show how small he is, but helps Miss Nancy, his best old friend, recover her memory.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
The Los Angeles Times Book Review: “Adults will likely turn the last page with a pang, and then will read again this beautiful, gentle story about aging. Whether a child is listening or not. Young Wilfrid Gordon lives next door to a nursing home and is best friends with 96-year-old Miss Nancy, to whom he tells his secrets. When she loses her memory, he decides to find it for her with the confidence only an innocent can have...For a topic often spoken of in euphemism, the author has displayed warmth, wit and dignity without being sappy. The spongeable cover and dreamy watercolors complement this uplifting tale.”

The Boston Sunday Globe: “A wonderful tale that celebrates both the exuberance of childhood and the dignity of old age.”School Library Journal: “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.” Kristi’s Book Corner: “...heart warming...a beautiful story of love and respect for your elder.”

E. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Mem Fox
Fox, Mem. 2000. HATTIE AND THE FOX. New York Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ISBN: 0689716117
Fox, Mem. 1994. SOPHIE. CA: Harcourt Brace & Company.
ISBN 0152771603
Fox, Mem. 1993. TIME FOR BED. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company
ISBN 0152881832
Fox, Mem. 2007. WHERE THE GIANT SLEEPS. FL: Harcourt Children’s Books.
ISBN 0152057854
Fox, Mem. 2005. HUNWICK’S EGG. CA: Harcourt, INC.
ISBN 0152163182
Fox, Mem. 1996. ZOO-LOOKING. New York: MONDO publishing.
ISBN 1572550112