We loved this blog by Peter H. Reynolds so much we had to repost it to share with everyone!


Early on in my children's book career, I was out in Greeley, Colorado attending the debut of a musical version of my book, The North Star. A local bookstore invited me to do a book-signing while I was visiting. I ventured to the shop which was located in a mall. I could tell it was a well-loved bookshop with narrow aisles packed to the gills with books. I ventured through the maze looking for someone in charge. I spotted an older woman who looked like she had been working -and perhaps living -in this shop for decades. Her eyebrow went up when she saw me.

"I'm Peter Reynolds. I'm here for the book-signing."

Her eyebrow lowered and her furrowed brow told me that she had no idea who I was or what book I might be signing.  I was fairly new at all this and quite ready to help bring her up to speed. I mentioned a new series I was illustrating called Judy Moody.  I told her about my book The North Star and how a local Greeley music teacher and an accomplished jazz musician, Tim Beckman, had transformed my story into a musical and how I had attended a performance of it at the Union Colony Civic Center.

I was telling her all this as she shuffled down the aisles in search of, I was guessing, copies of my books to sign. She stopped suddenly and picked up a small blue book and swung around. It was a copy of Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater released in 1938.

She pushed it a few inches from my nose for me to get a real good look at it and said, "Now THAT is a good book."



After recovering from my bewildered state, I found the section with my books and signed.

Before leaving, I did one last thing.

I bought a copy of Mr. Popper's Penguins.

On the plane ride home, I read it.

She was right. It WAS a really good book.