Ruth, who always wanted to be a writer. Other children teased her when she had stories published in the children's page of the newspaper. The school library had eight books; at home there were two, which were not considered suitable for a child's eyes.

Having little to read, she studied the people around her instead. From this comes the story of her childhood and youth, in New Zealand during the Great depression.

The book has pace.

Ruth never wastes words.

So many people spring out of the pages of her book; the poor, the totally destitute, the wealthy, the country people, the Maoris, the city people. So she has created a vibrant illustration of life in a different time.

Ruth has written at least 9 novels and 8 children's books. She is the creator of "The Muddleheaded Wombat", much-loved by many Australian children. My favourite book of hers is "Playing Beattie Bow", a captivating adventure back in time to early Sydney.

Ruth writes about the way of life and the hardships of the 1930s, and woven through it all is her need to write and the struggles she had to achieve her dream of writing professionally.

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Created Jul 07, 2002 at 11:47pm • Submit your own review...