Sandra Gonnerman

March 17, 2001

First and foremost, I paid my dues. I DID write you a letter by hand (and it was painfully LONG). Anyhow, thank you for the response.

I recently got my very own copy of FISHWHISTLE. Immediately I turned to the chapter about the stinking snake. (Oh, how I love to bask in the terror of it all!). It thrilled me so, I took the book to school and read it to my fifth graders. They loved it. We all believe that the snake was wrapped around the axle. (Maybe it’s still there.).

Damm thing. Anyway, it was fun. (Also, I misbehaved in a children’s book review committee meeting last week laughing with the head of social studies about the chapter). She and I laughed about how we would never go in the SNAKE HOUSE at the San Diego Zoo when we were growing up. I promised Emily I would send her my book to read the chapter about the snake. Cool story. The fifth graders love it. (They also read all your books, so I think you should email me back). Also, get busy and write another book so I can review it with the San Diego County Office of Education and buy it for about a million kids.

Yours truly, Sandy Gonnerman, the fifth grade teacher who is a Pinkwater groupie and loves the blue moose and hates snakes. (They are important, I know, and I think they should be left be… but I do NOT want to find one in my garage. ) Get BUSY AND WRITE SOMMORE!!!

Don't send me any more handwritten letters. Since email, I have saved enough on postage to buy my own snake. His name is Cecil, (which he can almost say), and his job is to lurk in the grass outside my house. This way I can put aside the anxiety of wondering if there's a snake there--because there is. 
Last time I heard from any librarian/educator types it was some of the butt-kicking bullying types who were getting up a petition to have me taken off Scott Simon's radio program because I am not serious enough. So your message is grafitying.
Oh, Cecil has volunteered to deal with the muscle-flexing evil librarians. He has no sense of humor.