''Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge'' is a 1984 children's picture book by

Mem Fox Merrion Frances "Mem" Fox, AM (born Merrion Frances Partridge; 5 March 1946) is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and l ...

. It is about a boy, Wilfrid, who helps an elderly friend, Nancy, to regain some of her memory. In 1998, American company Weston Woods Studio released a film adaptation of this book, narrated by the author with music by Ernest Troost.

Basis

The name of the boy who is the central character is that of Fox's father, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, who, with his wife, Nancy, was sent to Zimbabwe as a teaching missionary.

Reception

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' 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". ''Alzheimer's Australia'' found it "sensitively written". A review by the

NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...

called it "a magnificently written and illustrated story about communication". 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.

References

External links

Library holdings of ''Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge 1984 children's books Australian children's books Fiction about amnesia Picture books by Mem Fox Omnibus Books books