Author Jackie French believes a book can change a child's life, give them the power to dream and to change the world for the better.
The Australian classic The Magic Pudding inspired her childhood life and dreams, she says.
Her passion for telling stories and tireless advocacy for children with learning difficulties has made her 2015 Senior Australian of the Year.
Overcoming dyslexia herself, French believes in the transformational power of storytelling in the lives of young Australians.
"A book can change the world," she said.
"Every book a child reads creates new neurons in that child's brain," she told the crowd on the lawns of Parliament House on Sunday as she received her award.
"If you want intelligent children give them a book. If you want more intelligent children give them more books."
The 61-year-old from NSW was living in a shed when she wrote her first children's book in 1991.
She's now published 140 books, for both adults and children, in 32 languages and received more than 60 literary prizes for children's classics such as Diary of a Wombat.
As the current national Children's Laureate, French is travelling the country to promote literacy.
She is also passionate about the conservation of wildlife and is a director of The Wombat Foundation which raises funds for research into the preservation of the endangered northern hairy nosed wombat.
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