Rebecca is the author of The Girl Most Likely, The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay and Joel and Cat Set The Story Straight

Rebecca's Ten Questions

1. What was your favourite childhood book and why?
   It’s hard to pick an absolute favourite so I’ll say two: Charlotte’s Web and Milly Molly Mandy. I particularly loved the map of the village where Milly Molly Mandy lived.

2. Who read books aloud to you when you were a child?
   My parents both read to me as a child. Reading and visits to the library were both a major part of my childhood routine. My primary school teachers also regularly read books to us.

3. Do you still have books from your childhood?
   So many. I can’t throw them away: Milly Molly Mandy, Meg & Mog, Madeleine, Charlotte’s Web, Winnie The Pooh…

4. What do you believe are the benefits gained from reading aloud to children?
   I think reading allows children to step into another world, to have adventures outside their bedrooms. On a more intimate level, I think reading gives a child this very special one-on-one experience with a parent or adult. Every Saturday I read a story book to my four year old nephew. He lives in Melbourne and I’m in Townsville, so I read it to him over the webcam!

5. What do you think are the long term benefits of reading?
   I think reading can help you become more empathetic. You have the chance to walk in someone else’s shoes every time you start a new story.

6. Name a book you secretly like but never admitted you've read?
   Virginia Andrews’s Flowers In The Attic!

7. What was your favourite food as a child?
   Pizza!!

8. What is your favourite sport?
   Tennis closely followed by netball! (I play a mean Wing Attack!)

9. If you could be any character out of a book, who would you be and why?
   I think I’d like to be Fern from Charlotte’s Web since she gets to have an amazing friendship with Wilbur. And who wouldn’t want a talking pig?!

10. What book are you reading now and where is your special place to read?
    I’m reading Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. I have a big, red, wing-backed arm chair. So that’s my favourite place to curl up and read!

Visit Rebecca's website at www.rebeccasparrow.com