The remarkable genius of Pamela Allen

 

I was off to a talk at the State Library but delighted to see there was an exhibition celebrating Pamela Allen. I literally skipped my way up to it, grinning with delight.

Pamela Allen is a prolific picture book creator. She was first published in the mid 1970s and never fails to produce something wonderful.

She wrote books for non readers to share - so the noises, motion and rhythm are as much a part of the story and the non reader can enthusiastically join in.

I read these books over and over to my kids. As I walked in, the first line of Mr McGee and the Perfect Nest filled my head.

Then the lines in Who Sank the Boat?

It was like voices filling my head everywhere I looked, fighting for attention. I realised I could recite many of these books by heart (and with my heart, as they are connection with my then babies).

Our favourites (along with the perfect nest) was Lion in the Night and  Bertie and the Bear, because of the cacophony of noises and motion we made as we read the book together. These are perfect books to combine play and literature. They really put the JOY into reading.

We had many picnics with friends and their kids in the Botanic Gardens where we followed Alexander's Outing, book in hand, seeking out the locations....

I will admit I was overwhelmed with emotions, flooded by so many happy memoires these books gave me. It made me almost teary with nostalgia, that pull back to my kids toddlerhood and preschool years.

I have mentioned before, I give I wish I had a Pirate Suit to younger siblings and Cuthbert Babies to those siblings with twins or triplets on the way....

My all time favourite? Too hard to narrow down. We probably own 20 or more of her works. She is a genius in my opinion, so clever in creating these books that engage on so many levels. Many are not for passive reading and listening. They are raucous, inducing laughter and bright eyed smiles exchanged with mother and child.

She's been awarded so many prestigious awards, all around the world, (and translated into many languages) so it's not a personal bias when I say she is one of the greatest children's authors in the world, ever.

The Curious World of Pamela Allen is free and on at the State Library of NSW until July 2027.

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