From: Beverly V Hock <bevvhock>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 22:17:53 -0700

To Judith Ridge and all of you great Australians,

I want to express my thanks to Judith Ridge for her kind words about our children's literature tour of Australia. Our group had the best time cuddling koalas, watching kangaroos, riding camels and reading, reading, reading. The authors and illustrators we met at Book Farm with Jill Morris, in Adelaide with Ruth Starke, in Melbourne at the university, at Dromkeen with Brownwyn Bennett and in Sydney with Judith were to a person warm, welcoming, and full of information. From the bush babies of May Gibbs to The Magic Pudding, The Seven Little Australians, and the bunyip, as well as the fascinating dreamtime stories of the aborigines, we were immersed in the wonderful world of Australian children's books. The words and the art was and is magnificent.

Thanks to all our friends Down Under. We hated to say G'day, mates. We had a fabulous trip and so much of that was due to the gracious reception we received from all of you.

Come to Reading the World VI, March 13, 14, 2004 at USF, so we can show you some California hospitality and share some more wonderful books for children.

Thanks to all.

Beverly Vaughn Hock Ed.D Center for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults University of San Francisco School of Education 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 9411771
Received on Tue 22 Jul 2003 12:17:53 AM CDT