I often describe myself as a semi-only child, as much of my childhood was spent as the only kid at home. I have a half sister and half brother who are ten and twelve years older than I am. There are two beds in the room, and you better believe I slept in both, to cover my claim-to-fame bases.īrother and sisters or an only child? How did that shape your life? Though I hadn’t yet read anything by Hemingway, I knew his name and was thrilled to learn I’d get to stay in the room where a real-live author had temporarily lived. I visited this house as a pre-teen and a teen. In the 1920s Ernest Hemingway rented a room there while working on The Sun Also Rises. The Maciciors own a home that is hundreds of years old, a grand thirty-four room structure in the Spanish countryside, near the city of Pamplona. Since then, Paula’s family and my family have continued to remain close. My family hosted a Spanish exchange student named Paula when I was in fourth grade. I’m going to change this one slightly to my most starry-eyed literary childhood memory. There’s a reluctant hero on a classic quest, and even the climax takes place at the highest physical point in the story-the Castle in the Air. It’s also great for teaching elements of story.

It’s witty, it’s clever, it’s fun, and oh so quotable. I’ve probably read it thirty times, first as a student, then as a student teacher, then with my students, and finally with my own children. I adore Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. Which book do you find yourself recommending passionately?

Later this year my best friend and I are heading to Maud’s home, Prince Edward Island - a trip six years in the making and dream come true. I’d like to think we’d have a lot to talk about! Like me, she was a teacher, a Presbyterian pastor’s wife, a mother to two boys, and an author. Though I have a feeling Maud wouldn’t approve of me (she was not fond of free verse), she has always felt like a kindred spirit. So far, I’ve read all five volumes twice. In fact, I’ve committed to revisiting Maud’s journals every ten years. I’ve read all of her books several times over, including the journals she kept from fourteen until the time of her death. Montgomery, of Anne of Green Gables fame. Which celebrity, living or not, do you wish would invite you to a coffee shop?Īuthor L.M.

Blue birds by caroline starr rose