Hello everyone up at Arncliffe. It's 'up there' for me because I live on the South Coast. Today I have a memory challenge for you. Think back to when you were much younger. Think way, way back. To Kindergarten maybe. Can you remember the name of the first book you read, or if you are thinking even further back, a book someone read to you?

Whenever I visit a school I always take some books to 'show and tell' when I am talking about ideas and how a story begins. One of the books that goes everywhere with me is There's a Hippopotamus on my Roof Eating Cake. I take it because it's a great example of how a good story idea can last a long time - the story is over 25 years old. I also take it because it doesn't matter whether I am talking to Year 4 or Year 8 - everyone remembers this book! Do you remember it?

My earliest book memory is Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It had a very scary bear picture on the front. I was so terrified of it that in the end my mum hid it in the linen cupboard under all the sheets and pillow cases. But I was so scared I had to keep peeking to make sure it was still there. Of course that made me even more scared. These sorts of memories sneak into my writing. In Samurai Kids Fire Lizard, Mikko is afraid of heights but has to climb down a big cliff. He is not supposed to look down but he keeps sneaking a peek because he wants to check what he is afraid of is still there. Just like me and the Goldilocks book!

The other book I remember is Fox in Sox by Dr Seuss. I loved those silly rhymes when I was a preschooler and I still feel the same about them now. Especially the one about Tweetle Beetles. It's a great piece of tongue twisting writing: When tweetle beetles fight,it's called a tweetle beetle battle.
And when they battle in a puddle,it's a tweetlebeetle puddle battle.

Some books you grow too old for and others are still fun no matter how much older you get. Now I think the Goldilocks book is a bit boring and the picture isn't scary at all. But I still think Fox in Sox is wonderful fun and I still love to read it aloud and get my tongue all tangled. If like me you think you are never too old for some Dr Seuss silliness, click here to visit the Dr Suess Story Maker and make a silly story of your own.

Fox in Sox is such fun two friends even created a rap from the book.


What is the first book you can remember being read to you? Maybe it was your mum or dad, or grandparent or class teacher? What was the first book you read yourself? What do you think about these books now?