The Day Eddie Met the Author

I feel very lucky to have visited hundreds of schools and to have met thousands of wonderful students and teachers. Because these experiences are a rich and vital part of my life, I wanted to honor them in a lasting way by writing a story.

Eddie symbolizes all the children I've met during my school visits. He also symbolizes their enthusiasm, their questions, and their earnest caring about the characters and subjects in my books. The big question that Eddie wants to ask the author is a composite of similar questions asked by my readers.

Riverside Elementary is a school in Dublin, Ohio where I have spent a lot of time with students and staff. In this story, it represents all the terrific schools I have visited. Always I carry the images, questions, names and memories of these schools with me on my travels and when I return to my desk in Cincinnati to work on new books.

P.S. Look on the author's vest, and see if you can spy Ann Zesterman from Good Luck, Mrs. K!