Fan Mail Wednesday #26

Sound the trumpets, roast a fatted calf! It’s Fan Mail Wednesday! Here’s a nice letter from Jake, and my reply, and Jake’s mom’s reply, and my reply to that . . .

Dear Mr. Preller,

My name is Jake and I am 9 years old. I am a big fan of your Jigsaw Jones books. I almost read the whole series! Usually kids want toys or video games, but last year for Christmas I asked for your books. I also have the book Six Innings, but I am looking forward to it. I think that you are a great author because you are very creative. Also, you are very good at making me want to read your books over and over again, and keeping the books a mystery. You are a very good author and I hope that I can read and enjoy more of your books!

Sincerely,
Jake

P.S. I only need three more books to read in the Jigsaw Jones Series!

I wrote back:

Dear Jake,

Wow, thanks for that kind letter. When I read things like this, it motivates me. It makes me want to keep writing, keep challenging myself to do more, try harder, write better.

Thank you for being that kind of reader for me. I’m truly lucky to have you; I’m grateful for all the books you’ve read.

I hope you enjoy Six Innings when the time is right for you to read it. I always have a big stack of books by my bedside, all waiting on line to be read next. As the saying goes, “So many books, so little time!”

JP

At that point, I figured I was done with Jake. Maybe I’d take the rest of the day off, maybe even take a little bubble bath in the tub . . .

Then this comes in the mail . . .

Dear Mr. Preller,

Thank you so much for writing back. You totally made my son’s night! He was so excited that you wrote back, and so soon, that he got out of bed and ran downstairs to read your email. Then, we printed it out because he wanted to save it. He wrote his letter to you all by himself and sent it off. I was so proud of it when I read it myself. He really did ask for your books for Christmas last year and then proceeded to read a book a day until he was done! There are 3 books missing from his collection and we’re unable to find them, but we will continue to search for them!

Your writing style has really spoken to my son and made a reader out of him. Thank you for that! And thank you for sharing your gift with people all over the world!

Keep it up, we look forward to more and more James Preller books!

Regards,

Andrea

Here’s my answer to that, in case any other fans of the series are encountering a similar problem (and from what I know, many are):

Andrea,

Very nice, thank you. I’m sorry to say that Scholastic no longer promotes Jigsaw Jones in trade (i.e., book stores), so they are getting harder to locate. Sometimes you find them in stores, sometimes you don’t. Some titles in the series are only available through Scholastic Book Clubs. For those, you can try this number, 1-800-724-6527, or navigate through this website (yes, parents can order directly). Good luck.

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