The Return

Revisiting a memorable place can certainly evoke a range of emotions. Perhaps it gives you a chance to see something you missed, or maybe it will not be as great as the first time.

Whatever lies ahead, there is always expectation and anticipation. That is especially true for me as I go back to Massachusetts every year about this time for the day job. While being there, of course, I will take time to drive by the family home, old schools, eat at restaurants that have been there for years, and so much more. As a published children’s book author, I could not help but make a return visit to the Dr Seuss Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. I was not sure what feeling it would create within me, but I wanted to find out.

This time it was quite different. Already, I noticed there were several children visiting right along with me as I moved through this creative World of Dr Seuss. Last year, I had to take a selfie with the very famous Cat in the Red and White Hat, as there was no one there with me. This time, however, it was bustling with children, mothers, and grandparents all interacting with the characters and learning all about Dr Seuss’s connection with Springfield. As I looked around, I saw a mother with her very young son standing next to me, and asked if she would kindly take a picture of me with the Cat in the Hat and my book, Good Night Cookie. She graciously said she would, and I posed with the Cat. I asked for her son’s name and offered to give them a copy of Good Night Cookies as a thank-you. I sat down and inscribed it to her son, Jackson, and signed it from Annabella and me. I told them they were pawsitively golden!

For me, that moment, sharing my book with them, was the best feeling in the world, and I knew right then the child within me was alive and well as another little poem came to life:

If there is one thing to consider

Oh yes indeed!

Never stop sharing your make-believe.

Another visit to this very famous cat

Surely inspires with a touch of that.

You came back, you came back

I am so glad you did………

He said please share Good Night Cookies

With everyone here

I know Thing One and Thing Two

Would love to hear

The Lorax too would be quite a fan

Please read to him if you can

It is a special bedtime story

That much is true.

Grace Kelly and Mr. Mischief

Are loved by us too!

Wicked Inspiration

People in Massachusetts use "wicked" as an intensifier, similar to "very" or "really," as a holdover from New England's regional dialect and history, despite its traditional meaning of evil. The modern usage is a distinct regionalism that likely emerged as a way for Boston-area youth to create unique slang, possibly as a response to other regions, and was later popularized by media like the movie Good Will Hunting and the TV show Saturday Night Live. 

What does inspiration mean? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one meaning describes it as….“the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.”

So, if you are a children’s book author or aspire to be, as I once did, then why not pay a visit to some of the most famous and creative children’s book authors you can remember from your childhood!

Where to start? Well, I was born and raised in Massachusetts, so there was no better place to start than right in my own backyard.

I enjoy expressing myself poetically, so here’s a poem I wrote just for you:

Last year, I paid a visit to a very famous Cat

Who always looks good in a red and white hat.

He said his author, Dr Seuss by name, is responsible

For giving him his spotlight and fame!

Good Night Cookies can do that, too.

Grace Kelly and Mr. Mischief are quite a crew.

Keep up the good work, he said with a grin,

“Come back to Massachusetts again and again!”

There are many famous authors from this great state,

For you, it might be a bit of fate.

For just up the road, there is a museum you must see.

It has stories and illustrations that provide nothing but glee!

A Hungry Caterpillar greets you at the door

But with Eric Carle, there is so much more!

Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is certainly one way to inspire. Even the simplest aspects of life can provide the most creative idea on which to build. If you have been a child or raised one in the last seventy-five years, then you know the books of Dr Seuss and Eric Carle. The Dr. Seuss Museum is in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Eric Carle in Amherst, Massachusetts. Both are well worth the visit.

Being immersed in the world of those famous authors and watching the visiting children interact with their many characters does make you feel like they can talk to you, and they did!