Sue Carolane

Sue Carolane, born 1957 in Victoria, Australia, has had over 35 years experience as a speech pathologist working in education. Troubled by the increasing number of children struggling to learn to read, write and spell, she decided to do something about it at its core - teaching each letter of the alphabet and the sound it makes. She has combined her professional expertise with her lifestyle on a hobby farm and uses photographs of her alpacas to teach each sound-letter link.

Most of the photos were taken specifically for the book by her second son, Antony. Her elder son nabbed the front and back covers, and her husband contributed five photos. Apart from the fact that the shearing photograph was taken by a friend because everybody else was too busy with the shearing, this book was truly a family affair (except that Kieran and Antony are actually David’s stepsons).

Sue is passionate about language and literacy and all the opportunities and experiences which flow from it. She believes that reading with children from a young age is one of the most important steps parents can take to lay a strong foundation for a happy and successful life. The fact that this also contributes to parent-child bonding is the icing on the cake. It is saddening to think how many people are denied the joy of curling up with a good book because they are not literate enough to derive any pleasure from reading.

Sue lives with her husband, David Carolane OAM, and they share the property with the alpacas, a dog, two Burmese cats, a rooster and his harem of ladies.