Lucinda Durstewitz

January 1, 1997

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

I can’t tell you how great it felt to have stumbled upon this web site!! I was one of those kids in school that never liked to read. When I was in 4th grade, I transferred to The Mustard Seed School in Hoboken. It was there that I was first introduced to your books. Somewhere in between Lizard Music and CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I became an avid reader. For that, I thank you. You may or may not remember this but our class had an ongoing correspondence with you… (until you were kidnapped by Reynold and we had to send in a gazillion soda can tabs for ransom!) Anyway, I’m a mother now and I’m just counting the days (more like years, he’s only two) until I can share your books with my son.

That I had a part in getting you to like reading is such a joy to me. I can't say it's what prompts me to want to write--but it's a fantastic by-product. I understand the City of Hoboken has constructed an enormous illuminated hand with a pointing finger to indicate the spot where I consumed clams and thought up so many of my books (the interior of the hand is rented out as advertising space to defray costs--but it's there to commemorate my artistic activity). A touching gesture, as it were, but not so heartwarming as a post like yours.