From: esme codell <esme>
Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:41:04 -0500

When I was ten years old, the idyllic Vermont countryside described in SOUP AND ME by Robert Newton Peck was very far removed from my own claustrophobic apartment in a rough Chicago neighborhood, and I hoped that someday I would have the chance to experience it for myself...which I did, first chance that I got. I decided on my college almost solely based on the dream of visiting the setting of that book, and in doing so, I met the man who has been my husband for the past nineteen years.

We dropped out of school together during my first year in Vermont, and returned to Chicago. I was only nineteen and didn't know what to do, but I figured SOUP AND ME served me so well the first time, so I went back to the bookstore where I had purchased it when I was ten and asked for a job. That started my career in children's literature.

Thanks, Robert Newton Peck! I don't know if I would have a job or a husband without you. Glad you wrote sequels. ;-)

Esm? Raji Codell Site Director PlanetEsme.com 2646 West Pratt Boulevard Chicago, IL 60645
(773) 764-3710 Vive la Paris, the companion to Sahara Special, Fall, 2006!
Received on Wed 31 May 2006 12:41:04 PM CDT