Adeline Foo - Reflections

I have always wanted to be a writer. Since I was 12! But life’s conventional demands took over, going to university, getting a job, getting married, and then having kids. When I was 37, an opportunity came up to allow me to stay home. I decided to pursue writing full time, while being a stay-home mum.

These four Monster books were conceptualised and written in the last eight months. It has been my pleasure to have worked with four talented and wonderful artists, Christopher Martin from Australia, Lee Kowling, Joshua Chiang and Christine Lim Simpson from Singapore. Professionals with passion and creative genius combined.

The ideas for these books were derived from the ‘child’ in me. I wanted to experiment with offering an Asian twist to two classics I knew since I was young, The Fox and the Tiger and The Elves and the Shoemaker. For the monster story derived from shadows, it was my little girl who gave me the idea, from seeing shadows of giant spiders on her wall! For The Thing Under My Bed, it’s a creative attempt for me to banish the monster that has always haunted me...

To all parents and children, know that I draw the greatest pleasure when you’ve enjoyed reading my books. But what’s more gratifying is to hear that my stories have inspired you to write. I hope my books will ignite the writer’s spark in a child and groom story-tellers into creative thinkers.

Adeline Foo
14 March 2009