In March I blogged about the note that my pen friend Mirin (a kindergartner) sent me as a thank you for The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster. Apparently that book has really stayed with her, as she send me ANOTHER lovely letter recently, in which she mentioned it again, this time tying it to something different than she did in her first note. Her new letter came enclosed in this LOVELY card, which (in addition to depicting the sun, a cat, a house, and a vase) also shows a book with the letters "TE" (short for "The End," of course). The book reflects this fact, which Mirin recently shared with her mother: "Alison and I are book-friends."

No, I didn’t coin the term "book-friend" — Mirin did. But can you imagine a better friend to have?

Mirin’s most recent letter to me is pictured below. In case you can’t read her EXCELLENT penmanship or decipher her invented spellings, here’s a translation:

"Dear Alasin! [sic] Today I had oatmeal because I was thinking of Katarina Elizabeth [the main character in The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster, who HATES oatmeal]. On Friday I have a play! I am an astronaut! Love, Mirin"

In response to this wonderful letter, I have sent my "book-friend" a copy of The Astronaut Handbook (Knopf Books for Young Readers, June 2008) by the always entertaining Meghan McCarthy, as I think any astronaut should own a copy, whether she’s rocketing her way toward the moon OR about to embark on the adventure of first grade. I can’t wait to hear what my "book-friend" thinks of this one!