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 In 1996 I attended a writing workshop led by Kentucky poet and children's book writer, George Ella Lyon. During the workshop George Ella asked us to remember a time and place that had left a deep impression on our lives. I immediately thought of my grandparents' home in Tappahannock, Virginia. As soon as I imagined myself in that place, memories of trips to the store for popsicles came flooding back. My granddaddy used to take me to a tiny grocery for a special treat on scorching summer afternoons. I wrote a poem about those experiences during the workshop and put it away, hoping to later turn it into a picture book.
It was four years before the voice of a little girl named Miracle came creeping into my imagination, giving me the idea for a story. "My name's Miracle," she said, "on account of the doctors said Mama couldn't have any more after my brothers, but I came anyway." I put Miracle in that little country grocery and the story of Root Beer and Banana came raveling out. |
