Sarah Williams (1)

[from Oxford University Press website]
Sarah Williams grew up in a small mining village outside Edinburgh within the kind of close knit community where 'best friends' at school could always be found to have a third or fourth cousin or aunt in common.

She cannot remember where she first heard all the rhymes and songs she knows, but many of them were learnt from her mother, and others when working in nursery schools in Edinburgh.

As a playgroup leader she became increasingly aware of the numbers of children and mothers who knew hardly any traditional nursery rhymes, folk tales, and fingerplays. She is convinced of the therapeutic value and need, within any culture, for handed down stories and songs - a continuum that spans generations.

Sarah Williams considers herself lucky to live in the beautiful city of Bath with her very supportive husband and two daughters.

Her hobbies, like her large book collection, reflect what her friends call her messy mind. She maintains they show a catholic taste - reading, walking alone, travelling, debating with friends about almost everything, cooking, and, as often as possible, sitting in a book corner in a playgroup listening to, and learning from, children.