Really, There is a Kidlit Connection Here

My many, many, many fans know that I am somewhat obsessed with Jane Yolen's On-line Journal, mainly because Jane is a maniac for work and I, well, I'm not. I hoped that reading Jane's journal of her work life would inspire me to make a greater effort. If anything, it's made things worse. The time I should be spending working, I'm spending reading about Jane work.

Now, if I were keeping an on-line journal of my working life instead of a weblog on the subject of children's literature, I would tell you all about how today I went biking at Quabbin Reservoir, which was formed in the 1930s by flooding four towns in Massachusetts. We found the wreckage of a plane that crashed in the 1950s, as well as the abandoned town of Dana.

You are probably thinking, "But you don't keep an on-line journal, Gail, so this is all a pointless waste of my valuable time." No it is not! Because Jane Yolen, my writing master, wrote a picture book about Quabbin Reservoir and the flooding of one of the towns it now covers. How cool is that?

On top of that, my husband's family owned a couple of stores in the area that was flooded. So a couple of years ago when Jane and I were both somewhere for an event (I think it was a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference--Jane was a presenter, I was a nobody) I bought two copies of Letting Swift River Go and had her sign them for my mother-in-law and niece.

The connections just go on and on. And guess what? I have pictures of today's excursion. If my computer guy ever figures out how to insert them into my blog, I'll add them here.