Maggie de Vries in Prince Edward Island

Since I was eleven or twelve years old, I’ve longed to visit Prince Edward Island. (You can probably guess why!) And thanks to Canadian Children’s Book Week, now I have, and not just as a tourist, but as a touring author. I met more than a thousand children, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, in all kinds of communities, from the capital city to towns marked only by a church and a library or a school. My fabulous host, Barbara Kissick, drove me the length and breadth of the island, showing me the sights along the way, and singing along with me in the car to Anne of Green Gables, the musical. Many times, I could not resist murmuring, “Mr. Cuthbert, why are your roads so red?” because they really truly are!

When a teacher librarian in Souris (pronounced Surrey) told me not to go home until I had put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean, I followed her advice that very afternoon. I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pant legs and strode on in. And out again. It was cold, cold, cold. But Barb took my picture, so I can prove that I did it! In that same school, I found myself talking about my sturgeon book and it occurred to me to ask the children, how many had some connection to fishing. Every hand went up, children’s and adults’ alike.

In another school library I noticed a big tree on the wall, and on each branch, crows. I stood still to admire it, because I love crows. It turned out that the children had decorated it like that in my honour! They knew from my website that I am fascinated by those creatures.

In many of the schools, children were particularly interested in the samples of my childhood writing that I shared. Several asked me why I don’t publish a chapter book I wrote when I was eleven. I tried to explain, but the question kept coming up, until I had an idea and made a promise. This summer, I’m going to type up that story (Annie Andrews) and post it on my website. Later in the week, I had another idea: maybe a character in a book I write in the next year or two could write Annie Andrews, or something similar to it. I loved talking to children who were so inquisitive about my writing that they made me look at it in fresh ways.

I’ve listed only a few moments in a week packed with experiences that I will never forget. I can’t complete a list of highlights of PEI, though, without mentioning lobster and ice cream. I managed to arrive just as lobster season was getting underway, and Barb and I enjoyed a scrumptious lobster dinner at Water-Prince Corner Shop and Lobster Pound. I hadn’t had lobster in years, and hope I did not do myself too much discredit with my technique (or lack of it). PEI is also home to Cows Ice Cream. By the final day, I had only managed to have one cone (and I love ice cream almost above all things). So, when we were on our way from the last school to the airport, I begged a favour. Thus my last experience of Prince Edward Island was two scoops of some of the best ice cream in the world in a crispy crunchy fresh waffle cone. I think I enjoyed it every bit as much as Anne Shirley enjoyed her first ice cream at that picnic that she almost missed.

Prince Edward Island, I shall return!