Doodledum Dancing

I grew up on a dairy farm on the Koo Wee Rup swamp in West Gippsland, Victoria. I preferred reading books and writing stories and poems to milking cows (although I loved playing with our dog and chooks). My cousins Lynnette and Susan and I produced a newspaper called The Thrilling Three, and when I was nine I had my first poem published in the Junior Age section of The Age newspaper. It was called My Little Creek and I was paid 17 shillings and sixpence for it. I made up most of my poems while riding my bike to school and piano lessons.

Pamela Allen is a phenomenon in the world of children’s books. In twenty-two years she has produced thirty picture books, many of which have won prestigious awards and commendations both in Australia and overseas. She is the first illustrator to have won the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBC) Picture Book of the Year Award two years running, for Who Sank the Boat? (1983) and Bertie and the Bear (1984). Some of Pamela’s other awards include the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the AIM Book Award (New Zealand), the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Diploma for Illustration, and the inaugural Children’s Yearly Best Ever Reads (CYBER) Award in Tasmania for Best Picture Book.