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I have been a bookseller for 16 years and Through the Mickle Woods is one of my favorite books of all time. What inspired you to write this incredibly beautiful and wise story?

Thank you so much for your kind words about Through the Mickle Woods. It is a book that means a great deal to me personally, because it was a story that I wrote for my husband never thinking it would eventually be published as a book.  You can read about what inspired the story by clicking the Story Behind the Story and take a Look Inside to see some of Barry Moser’s wonderful paintings.

I read a short story you wrote called "Stories from a Time Before" and wondered if that was based on your own life and also, where was it published originally?  Is it from one of your books? Do you have more stories like this one?

“Stories from a Time Before”  was based on the stories my father told me about his experiences coming to this country from Slovakia through Ellis Island.  It was originally published in Cricket Magazine with wonderful illustrations by Margot Tomes.  To read “Stories from a Time Before” click Read a Story.  Several editors have asked if I have more stories like this one, but so far I have only bits and pieces of a novel in my files.

How did you come up with the title Happy Burpday Maggie McDougal!? My four year old is named Maggie McDougall and I am trying to track down the book for her. Thanks!

How lovely to hear about a REAL Maggie McDougal! My husband is of Scottish descent, and I often use Scottish words because I love the sound of the language. So that's how the heroine of Happy Burpday, Maggie McDougal! received her name and the book Through the Mickle Woods received its title (the word mickle is an old Scottish word meaning "great").

I loved the book called When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars.  What inspired you to write this book?

Thanks for your question.  Click on the Story Behind the Story to see what inspired When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars and take a Look Inside at Italian illustrator Stephano Vitale’s amazing illustrations.

 

Illustration ©Lynn Munsinger