Fan Club

This is my first letter from Robin. (It’s in black and white because it’s a scan of the original, not because of its age…)

This page for Robin’s other fans to share memories of books they’ve loved and correspondence received from Robin …

Alicia Harkaway: I live in Harkaway, Victoria and I have train obsessed boys, we often go (or used to prior to Covid) on Puffing Billy (it’s quite close) and I think of Robin every time even after all these years. She was so kind to take the time to write back to me. I was the envy of the kids at school. When a new book came out we had to waitlist for it!

Anna Krien remembers meeting Robin when her mum ‘was interviewing Robin for the Sun newspaper and took myself and my two older brothers with her to Robin’s home in the Dandenong Ranges. I would have been about six or seven, and am the youngest of my siblings. I remember playing in a big lush sprawling garden, green with ferns and then running up to a verandah where Robin gave us each an enamelled copper brooch – mine was a lizard, my oldest brother got a fox and I can’t remember what she gave my other brother.’

Jess, who posts as @godday_wray on Instagram, shared her letter from Robin. ‘In 1986 I wrote to Robin Klein whose books I adored. She was my hero. I especially loved People Might Hear You, Thing and Penny Pollard’s Diary. Her books “got” me. The letter meant the world to 10-year-old me. I think the Thing pattern is at the bottom of my sewing box …’

Here’s one received by Penny Tangey, who grew up to be an author and librarian. The ‘program’ in question was researching the job you’d like to do. Guess what Penny chose?

Please send in your memories and images – you can get in touch by emailing jon [at] lettersfromrobin.com. Thank you!