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Oh, hey, check out #25. I still exist!
(You might need to squash this link.)
And while we’re blowing that horn . . .
Don’t forget my two other series, Scary Tales and the Big Idea Gang.
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Coming Soon . . . EXIT 13!
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Oh, hey, check out #25. I still exist!
(You might need to squash this link.)
And while we’re blowing that horn . . .
Don’t forget my two other series, Scary Tales and the Big Idea Gang.
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Coming Soon . . . EXIT 13!
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I received three letters from the same classroom, each including a SASE (thank you!). Two of the letters came with secret codes. All of them were fairly similar and signed using only an initial (for privacy, I gather). I enjoyed responding to them, not all that seriously.
But first, the codes:
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Here are my replies . . .
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Dear N,
Just N, hmmm? That’s mysterious.
Let me guess: Noah, Nadine, Neo, Nico, Nancy, Nigel . . .
(Stop me when I get it right.)
Natasha, Nehemiah, Nelson, Naomi . . .
(I’m fading here.)
Nevan, Neely, Nori, Naadir . . .
(I give up!)
As for your code: “Can you figure out this pass code to read it if you can read it.”
Did I miss anything?
I’m glad you enjoyed Food Fight’s satisfying conclusion!
My best,
James Preller
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Dear T,
That’s it, huh? Just T.
Wait a minute, I’ve got it!
This is Mister T!
“I pity the fool!”
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Thanks for the SASE: Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.
Saves me some money!
Be well and keep reading,
James Preller
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Dear A,
I wonder. A what? A banana? A pizza pie? A really good book? A reader?
I’m a B, personally: baffled, bewildered, bamboozled!
Let’s see if I can crack your code.
(This is fun, thanks.)
“James Preller I really liked the book the case of the food fight!”
Okay: 1) That’s good news! 2) Pretty sure this makes me a genius!
Have a great summer — not a bummer!
My best,
James Preller
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For many years now, I’ve been receiving fan mail from a school in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s always a thrill to get them, just the idea that something I wrote can make it all the way there — and then, years later, we connect through that shared book experience. Writer and reader. Words bring us together. It’s kind of beautiful when you think about it. Here’s one from Kaya . . .
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Dear Mr Preller,
Some of the vocabulary you used was difficult for me but I learned new words. Normally I read slowly but I was curious about your story and I read it so fast.
I liked the pictures of your book. They helped me to understand your story better. In my opinion the book can be more interesting if pictures are colorful.
I want to read other books of Jigsaw Jones this summer. They look so interesting.
I replied . . .
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Dear Kaya,
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By 1968, at 7 years old, I had became a huge fan of the New York Mets. That affliction was passed along by my mother, an old Brooklyn Dodgers fan who adopted the Mets on the day they were born in 1962. The Mets were, in a way, her 8th and final child. To this day, I credit the sports writers from that time — particularly Dick Young — for turning me into a reader. I remain grateful that ESPN wasn’t around in those days; I had to read to find out about the previous game, studying the box score, reveling in Bill Gallo’s cartoons, and working my way through the articles in the morning newspaper. We got the Daily News and The Long Island Press.
When it came time for me to write the first Jigsaw Jones book in 1997 (there are 42 in all, more than 11 million sold), I had to fill Jigsaw’s classroom with characters. So I named one Joey Pignattano, after the longtime Mets bullpen coach, Joe Pignatano. The old coach and former catcher passed recently at age 92. He served with the Mets from 1968 to 1981, working under managers Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Frazier, and Joe Torre.
Joe Pignatano was famous for growing tomato plants in the Shea Stadium bullpen.
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“In 1969 I discovered a wild tomato plant in the bullpen and nurtured it the rest of the season,” he remembered. “We got some tomatoes off it, but most important we won the whole thing. After that, I kept up the garden as long as I was with the Mets as a good luck charm.”
Yes, 1969 was a good year to be a Mets fan. And amazingly, I was there at Shea for Game 5 of the World Series. I watched my hero, pitcher Jerry Koosman, throw the last ball and fabulous Cleon Jones in left field cradle it for the final out. Whew. Game over, miracle secured. And to think I’d had a few tears fall earlier during that game, when we were down 3-0 to the dreaded Orioles.
As a kid I was captivated by that name. Joe Pignatano! It was perfection. Of course, as these things go, I managed to misspell it in Jigsaw Jones.
Rest in peace, Joe. I hope you didn’t mind my little tribute. And if I didn’t say it before: thank you.
Art from Jigsaw Jones: The Case from Outer Space. That’s Joey Pignattano and Danika Starling. Illustrated by R.W. Alley.
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Here’s a nice letter from Loren in Delaware — but wait, hold up. First I want to say that this is the time of year when I usually don’t post as regularly. I have a couple of interviews in the works, and several new books coming up, but nothing feels super urgent. I don’t post all the fan mail that I receive, just the special ones. Like Loren’s. As always, I am immensely grateful to every teacher, librarian, and adult who helps put my books in the hands of young readers. Thank you.
Dear Loren,
Thank you for your enthusiastic letter.
I counted 16 o’s when you wrote that you love my books “soooooooooooooooo much.”
Why not 17? Did your hand cramp up?
The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster was the first Jigsaw Jones book I wrote — and it’s still by far the most popular. Unfortunately, it’s out of print now (meaning: it’s hard to find, and never in bookstores). I’ve tried to bring it back, but publishing is a strange world.
The good news, part 1: You’ve already read it!
The good news, part 2: There are still 14 other Jigsaw Jones titles available in stores and online. Either new books or newly revised and updated. So if you are looking to spend big money, Loren, hey, there’s your chance.
The good news, part 3: You can usually find them for FREE at your local public library.
The good news, part 4: A couple of years ago, I made a series of FIVE VIDEOS on Youtube where I read the entire book. You should check ‘em out! So even if readers can’t find Hermie, they can still HEAR it on Youtube.
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I’m glad you mentioned liking the scene in the pet store. To write that scene, I had to do some research. Can you guess? I found a pet store that sold snakes and other animals. I went to it, walked around, asked questions, and took lots of notes. In the back, I saw a cage full of monkeys. And guess what? They were all wearing diapers!
Ha, ha, ha. I had to put that in my book!
Silly monkeys.
Thanks again for your terrific letter,
James Preller
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