One of Julie Vivas’most memorable works, the story of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is a story about a young boy who sets out to help old Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper find her memory. Gordon finds out that Miss Nancy has lost her memory, and because he likes her (she has four names like he does) he decides that he must do something about it, he must find her memory…

As he wanders around and speaks to the people in his community they each wisely tell him what a memory is, and in turn Gordon seeks to find something that fits with that image of a memory…

This is not only a story about a young child’s love for another and the innocence of a child it’s about a mentoring community who take teh child’s questions seriously enough to answer from the heart…

This is a beautiful text that has also been beautifully illustrated.

I’ve managed to almost re-write this story on a number of occasions with the imagination of what would happen if Gordon was asking the questions “What does forgiveness mean?” or “What does reconciliation mean?” or “What does love mean?” and asking people in my community for their answers…

Themes:
Community
Memory
Love
Mentoring
Being open to young people
Family

Book Information:

Author: Mem Fox
Illustrated by: Julie Vivas
Publisher: Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd
ISBN 1862910642

Purchase from Angus Robertson: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

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