Welcome to the Guestbook!
I’m always eager to read your comments about my books and stories, so please feel free to pitch in. Here are a few things for you to know:
1) I answer the messages here personally.
2) No message shows up here until I actually answer it to prevent spam and other inappropriate postings. So there will sometimes be a delay before your message posts, especially if I am traveling.
3) Teachers, a gentle request: Please do not have multiple children send me variants of the same message. A group email is much easier to respond to and not such a drain on my time. My thanks in advance for being alert to this.
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Good day Mr. Coville!
We liked reading Jeremy Thatcher and loved the characters, Jeremy and Tiamat. Our favorite parts were when Mary Lou tried to kiss Jeremy and when Tiamat took Jeremy on the midnight flights.
We were curious about why you made Tiamat invisible to everyone except for Jeremy and Mary Lou. Also, why did Tiamat have to leave and make Jeremy so sad at the end of the book? Why didn’t Jeremy jump into the gate with Tiamat?
We have two more questions. What type of dragon is Tiamat? How did the librarian, Ms. Priest know about Tiamat?
Hope you have a happy Halloween!
Adios,
Room 4 Late Birds
We liked reading Jeremy Thatcher and loved the characters, Jeremy and Tiamat. Our favorite parts were when Mary Lou tried to kiss Jeremy and when Tiamat took Jeremy on the midnight flights.
We were curious about why you made Tiamat invisible to everyone except for Jeremy and Mary Lou. Also, why did Tiamat have to leave and make Jeremy so sad at the end of the book? Why didn’t Jeremy jump into the gate with Tiamat?
We have two more questions. What type of dragon is Tiamat? How did the librarian, Ms. Priest know about Tiamat?
Hope you have a happy Halloween!
Adios,
Room 4 Late Birds
Reply by Bruce Coville
Ahoy, Room 4 Late Birds!
I am very glad to know that you enjoyed JEREMY THATCHER!
You have good questions, and I will try to give you good answers:
Q. Why did I make Tiamat invisible to everyone except for Jeremy and Mary Lou?
A. In the first draft that I sent to my editor, Tiamat never got any bigger than a large dog. That was because if she had, Jeremy could not have kept her hidden - could not have kept her safe! Also, Jeremy had to say good-bye to her in the front of the Magic Shop, and not go behind the counter to release her. My editor said I needed to try again, that I had ended the story too early. I was puzzling about how to keep Ti hidden when I came across an old French folk tale about an invisible dragon, and that gave me the key to how to continue the story and do what my editor wanted. It made for a much better book!
Q. Why did Tiamat have to leave and make Jeremy so sad at the end of the book?
A. As the story explains, our world is not really safe for dragons any more. That's why they needed a world of their own.
Q. Why didn’t Jeremy jump into the gate with Tiamat?
A. Would you have jumped into the gate with Tiamat? Remember, if you did, you would have gone to a strange world, leaving behind your family and all your friends!
Ms. Priest works with Mr. Elives - you'll find her in some of the other Magic Shop books, too. Who she is, and who Mr. Elives is, are part of the mystery of the shop.
Wishing you a Happy Halloween!
Bruce Coville
I am very glad to know that you enjoyed JEREMY THATCHER!
You have good questions, and I will try to give you good answers:
Q. Why did I make Tiamat invisible to everyone except for Jeremy and Mary Lou?
A. In the first draft that I sent to my editor, Tiamat never got any bigger than a large dog. That was because if she had, Jeremy could not have kept her hidden - could not have kept her safe! Also, Jeremy had to say good-bye to her in the front of the Magic Shop, and not go behind the counter to release her. My editor said I needed to try again, that I had ended the story too early. I was puzzling about how to keep Ti hidden when I came across an old French folk tale about an invisible dragon, and that gave me the key to how to continue the story and do what my editor wanted. It made for a much better book!
Q. Why did Tiamat have to leave and make Jeremy so sad at the end of the book?
A. As the story explains, our world is not really safe for dragons any more. That's why they needed a world of their own.
Q. Why didn’t Jeremy jump into the gate with Tiamat?
A. Would you have jumped into the gate with Tiamat? Remember, if you did, you would have gone to a strange world, leaving behind your family and all your friends!
Ms. Priest works with Mr. Elives - you'll find her in some of the other Magic Shop books, too. Who she is, and who Mr. Elives is, are part of the mystery of the shop.
Wishing you a Happy Halloween!
Bruce Coville