In the children’s section of our store this morning, I overheard a seafaring father talking with his worried, wizard-loving daughter about how they’ll get their hands on a hot-off-the-presses copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "We’ll come into some port on July 21st," he reassured her. "I will MAKE SURE we come into some MAJOR port on July 21st!"
I love the image of ships all over the world sailing into port and dropping anchor on the same day for the same bookish purpose, their resident kids scurrying up the gangplank and rushing to the nearest bookstore.
What a wonderful conversation to overhear, and such a lovely image.
Actually, you go down a gangway to the dock, and up the gangway to the ship. Still a great image!
What a fabulous image – so other worldly. A magical trek from the high seas to a the land of imagination – bookstore magic!
Chas, Thanks for the (rather obvious) correction on that one. Clearly I have spent far too little time “simply messing about in boats” (at least in ones large enough to require a gangway)!
We’ll be in a tiny town in southern France on July 21 – no boats and the post is still on strike, so no mail. My 9 year old son is fuming! Any ideas?
Deborah, Ouch. That’s tough. My best suggestion is for you to befriend someone with an international calling plan, unlimited spending money, unlimited free time, and a talent for reading aloud!
Deborah–no mail in France? That’s why they have FEDEX! LOL Try ordering through Amazon France (as opposed to ordering from Amazon UK or US)and ship it to where you will be via a non-post method. Good luck!