First of all, wow, this is letter number 234 that I’ve shared on this blog. I started this feature late in 2008, I think. I don’t put every letter on the blog. These represent only a small sample. Here at James Preller Dot Com, we share only the freshest, the funniest, the best. This one is from Vivien. She qualifies!
Dear James Preller,
I really like your Jigsaw Jones books. They are really fun! I think it is cool how Jigsaw and Mila send secret codes to each other. Jigsaw is really smart. I don’t think I would have been able to solve The Mystery of the Perfect Prank. I would like to ask you some questions. (I am going to write in a code!) Why you writing Jigsaw books, did start the Jones? What your color, is favorite? Which your are favorite, of books your? Are going write books, you to more? Please answer these questions (if you can!) and please write back soon.
‘
I replied:
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Vivien,
Thank you for this lovely note. And may I also say how much I love your name: Vivien. It’s even fun to say. It also reminds me of a favorite word: convivial.
Vivien is convincingly convivial!
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You are the first person on the planet clever enough to ask me questions in code. I did manage to figure it out. Confession: My first thought was that you were lousy at typing. But then I recognized that you had some kind of alternate word thing going on. I like it! Does it have a name? A Word Skip Code?
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On to the questions!
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I began writing these mysteries back in 1997. At the start, I was just messing around with words on paper. I had a character, named Otis, who had an extremely active imagination. He’d pretend to be a space explorer, a mad scientist, and a hard-boiled detective (like in the old movies). An editor at Scholastic, Jean Feiwel, read what I had written and said, “I like the part where he’s a detective. Do you think you could write a mystery?”
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My favorite color? Well, the older I get, I have to admit — it’s gray.
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Illustration by R.W. Alley from THE CASE FROM OUTER SPACE — coming in the summer of 2017!
There are different scenes in each Jigsaw Jones book that I enjoy. A line that’s funny, a clue that might be particularly ingenious, or a moment of real heart. And I suppose there’s a few books with which I’ll never feel satisfied.
I’m super excited about my new Jigsaw Jones book, The Case from Outer Space, which is coming out this summer, published by Macmillan. I hadn’t written one in several years, and I was so happy to re-enter that familiar world. It really might be the best Jigsaw Jones book I’ve ever done — and that’s saying something, because it’s the 41st book overall.
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Thank you for reading my books, Viv!
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Oh, by the way, I think I figured out a new code the other day. I made a note and stuck it in a folder. Maybe for the next book. Do you mind if I try it out on you?
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Wait, before you leave the house — get dressed!
Most animals are fabulous dancers.
At first, the hippo appeared bored and soporific, but then he perked up.
The single best thing anyone can ever do is pour soup in their shoes.
I believe Vivien is actually a frog.
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Stumped you, didn’t I?
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Here’s a hint: I think I’ll call it a Third Word Code. And it’s harder to write than it looks! Whew. I’m gonna take a nap!
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Your pal,
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James Preller
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We’ve collected the books debuting on Indiebound’s Indie Bestseller List for the week ending January 18, 2015–a sneak peek at the books everybody will be talking about next month.
(Debuted at #3 in Hardcover Fiction) The First Bad Man by Miranda July: “When Cheryl’s bosses ask if their twenty-one-year-old daughter, Clee, can move into her house for a little while, Cheryl’s eccentrically ordered world explodes. And yet it is Clee—the selfish, cruel blond bombshell—who bullies Cheryl into reality and, unexpectedly, provides her the love of a lifetime.” (January 2015)
(Debuted at #1 in Children’s Interest) Looking for Alaska (Special 10th Anniversary Edition) by John Green: “Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called \"The Great Perhaps.\" Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles inter her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.” (January 2015)
(Debuted at #13 in Children’s Illustrated) Paddington written by Michael Bond & illustrated by R.W. Alley: “Nearly fifty years ago, a small bear from Darkest Peru set out on an adventure of a lifetime. With nothing but a suitcase, several jars of marmalade, and a label around his neck that read, “Please Look After This Bear,” he stowed away on a ship headed for faraway England. When the little bear arrived at London’s busy Paddington Station, he was discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Brown. As luck would have it, the Browns were just the sort of people to welcome a lost bear into their family.” (June 2007)
Here's a spot from High Five Magazine. You can tell a lot about a character from the patterns they wear. I dare say, this girl is pretty sure of herself.
I’m one of those people who doesn’t feel particularly proud or accomplished, much more aware of what I haven’t done — and maybe can’t ever do — than what’s already past. I know, I know. But that’s just how I’m built, so you’ll have to write a letter to the manufacturer.
The truth is, I got a few great letters recently. I haven’t been sharing them of late, or been particularly tuned into the “James Preller” franchise — this business of being “James Preller” — just generally weary of this Industry of Self. Not the writing, not the books, not the real work: that stuff is great.
Anyway, here’s a letter from someone I met long ago . . .
Hi Mr. Preller,
I’m sure you wouldn’t recognize my name, but my name is Katie F. and I was in Ms. Goeke’s 2nd grade class when you visited back in ‘98. Now I am 22 and about to graduate with my MBA, my how time flies! I still own the first couple of Jigsaw Jones books, and while reorganizing my bookshelf to make room for some textbooks I came across the second book, The Case of the Secret Valentine. I remember vaguely having a visitor in the class who Ms. Goeke had explained was an author. However, I had completely forgotten that my name is on the second page! You have clearly had great success with this series, I see there have been many more books published since I left that target age group; congratulations!
My question is, what inspired the main idea of the series? The characters? Did you already have a kids detective series in your head when you came to observe my class?
I used to jokingly tell people I inspired a kid’s series in elementary school because I used to play detective on the playground all of the time back then. I doubt I was actually the true inspiration, so I was wondering if you didn’t mind sharing that with me? I’ve been very curious!
Apologies if you have already answered this question on your blog somewhere!
Katie (Kathryn) F.
I replied:
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The author mumbles to himself: “I am only as young as I feel, I am only as young as I feel, I am only as young . . .“
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Oh, hey, Katie, I didn’t see you standing there!
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Thank you so much for that remarkable letter. I remember that time well, though you are correct, the names of the individual students in that class have long since slipped away.
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Back then, fifteen or sixteen years ago, I was given a four-book contract to write a mystery series. This was based on something I generated myself, gave to an editor, and Scholastic decided, “Let’s see if he can do it.”
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It was important to me to write accurately about the school life of children. Fortunately, I knew your teacher, Jen Goeke, and she welcomed me into her classroom. I visited many times, actually. In fact, I loosely modeled Jigsaw’s teacher, Ms. Gleason, after your (our!) Ms. Goeke. I admired so many of the little things so did with her students, the affection, the calm, the deft way of balancing the needs of individuals with the pedagogical objectives of the classroom. I’m sure you’ll agree, mostly she was really, really nice. There’s a lot of Ms. Goeke in those books.
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I love this illustration by R. W. Alley from the first book in the series, The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster.
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Here’s a snatch of dialogue from that scene:
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“Ms. Gleason,” I said.
Ms. Gleason looked up and smiled. “Yes, what can I do for you two?”
“We really, really need to learn about snakes and hamsters,” I said.
Ms. Gleason put down her blue pencil. “This sounds serious.”
“It is,” Mila answered.
“Very serious,” I whispered. “It’s a matter of life and death.”
Ms. Gleason put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes got wide. “Oh, goodness,” she said.
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Yes, I see that you are right. I dedicated book #3, The Case of the Secret Valentine, to the students in your 2nd-grade class. One other thing I tried to put into those books, and that I re-learned partly from those visits with Ms. Goeke, was how a child can truly and deeply fall in love with his or her teacher. She was beautiful and lovely and most of all she was kind. I wanted to pay tribute to that.
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I am sorry to say that you were not the inspiration for the series. (Actually, my team of lawyers has advised me to say that, in fear you will be seeking a claim on royalties earned.) I already had the basics in mind before I walked into your classroom. But I did get inspired there, and I’m sure you played a part in that.
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I wonder: Do you have a class picture? Could you send a file to me? I’d love to see one, if that isn’t too much to ask.
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Thank you for taking the time to write. I was nice for me to find an excuse to revisit those times and that place. Congratulations on your MBA. Now go out there and fix the world! That was one of the things I learned, you know. Hopefulness. Belief in a better future. I’d sit in that classroom, surrounded by kids exactly like you, who were being taught by a young woman like Jen Goeke, and I knew that somehow we’d make it through, that it would all be all right somehow.
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My best,
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JP
NOTE: Apologies for the type-size weirdness of my reply. I don’t have the patience to try to fix it now.
Hi James Preller!
I am a fan of your books! My class wrote you. I live in Richmond Hill, Ontario and my name is Paige. I go to Red Maple Public School and I am 7 years old. I bring home Jigsaw Jones books for homework and my teacher even reads Jigsaw Jones books my whole class. How many Jigsaw Jones books have you made? Where do you live? I am even making a Jigsaw Jones mystery story for author day in class. My Jigsaw Jones story is called The Case Of The Double Jigsaw. Why did you make Jigsaw’s real name Theodore but he didn’t like his name so he asked people to call him Jigsaw? I know he likes jigsaw puzzles. The very first Jigsaw Jones story I read was The Case of the Glow and the Dark Ghost. What is your favourite Jigsaw Jones book. Please write back.
Love, Paige
I replied:
Dear Paige,
As a writer, of course, I love your name — Paige. So it’s only natural that you’d grow up to be a reader.
To answer your questions:
* There are 40 Jigsaw Jones books in all, but some go in and out of print. Collecting them all is a real challenge!
* I live in Delmar, NY.
* I knew that most parents would not name their son “Jigsaw” — it had to be a nickname, and I needed for Jigsaw to prefer his nickname over his birth name. So I also gave him a birth name, a name that I did not particularly like. Thus, Theodore. My apologies to all the Theodores in the world. It’s not personal, guys.
* Tough question, because I don’t really have a single favorite. For the mystery, I like The Case of the Buried Treasure and The Case of the Haunted Scarecrow. The clues fell into place in a nice way. For the setting, I like the camping trip in
That first pair of glasses. It's a rite of passage for many kids, especially those in my myopic family. I was in fifth grade when the world suddenly became a whole lot clearer. My daughter was in second. Unlike my unattractive first pair of specs, hers were in a kid-friendly rainbow pattern. She thought they were adorable in the store. But then came the day she had to wear them to school and doubts bubbled to the surface. We marched together into the schoolyard and a gaggle of friends surrounded her, giving her hugs and telling her how great her glasses looked. As the song goes, "That's what friends are for."
In
Pearl and Wagner Four Eyes by
Kate McMullan, Wagner has friends just as supportive. In this Level 2 early reader, Wagner lines up for a school eye test and soon learns the awful truth. He needs glasses. Pearl, his friend, is envious. She would love a pair, saying that "glasses can give you a whole new look". Wagner is fitted with a spiffy pair of blue glasses, but he refuses to wear them to school. Pearl convinces him that he looks cool in them, and in the playground his other friends agree. Unfortunately, a pair of older boys tease Wagner, calling him "Four Eyes." Off come the glasses and Wagner is again in the dumps. His friends cleverly come to his rescue, bolstering his confidence. His specs back on, Wagner proudly declares, "The name's Four Eyes."
R. W. Alley's delightful ink and watercolor illustrations complement the storyline. This early reader concludes with helpful tips for wearing glasses.
Pearl and Wagner Four Eyes
by Kate McMullan
illustrations by R. W. Alley
Dial, 40 pages
Published: September 2010
