One of my favorite books as a kid was My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. In addition to loving the story, it has references to where I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.
My wife wrote to the author of the book, and was delighted to hear back from Ms. George. Below is the original email and the response (edited for privacy).
I just came across your website with your email link and so I just wanted to send you a quick note to tell how much I loved reading “My Side of the Mountain” when I was 8 or 9. It just so happens that my husband is from … which has a … library. After meeting my husband and our discussion of our mutual enjoyment of this book when we were both young, he told me about certain references to his town of … and of this library (his first girlfriend actually lived across the street from it). Now we’ve introduced your books to our oldest daughter, who is 10. She loves My Side of the Mountain as well. She just got back from being a week in …, and was surprised when I mentioned the library being downtown. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for writing such a timeless classic that we can share with our kids and hopefully their kids, etc…
And Ms. George’s response:
Dear …,
The … Library at …! How splendid your daughter visited it. Did she see the collection of letters they have from kids and the Geological Survey map they have posted of where Sam’s tree is supposed to have been? So many people come and ask about him that they posted it.
I’m glad to know your husband is from ….
Jean Craighead George
My daughter actually never got a chance to visit the library, but we will make a point of it next time we are there!