Dear Mary Downing Hahn,
Your book Wait till Helen
Comes has changed me so much it's hard to put on paper.
I'm going to tell you about how and why this came to be. Ever
since I can remember I've hated reading. Books were stupid
and didn't make sense. Then in third grade, I was diagnosed
with a reading disability. Things at home weren't helping.
Mom and Dad were trying to teach me to read but it just wasn't
getting through. I knew it wasn't their fault.
My parents had my older brother
Troy to deal with too. When my brother was eight, he had a
grand mal seizure and almost died. That's when I began to
fear death. That's another thing Wait till Helen Comes
helped me with; realizing death is a part of life. You shouldn't
fear death. You should conquer it.
Somehow I got past the third
grade. In the fourth grade I had a lot of older friends. Some
of them got involved in something called Battle of the
Books. That's where you read a bunch of books on a list
and then people ask your team questions about the books. One
day, my best friend's sister came up and told me about this
book Wait till Helen Comes. Just her talking about
it sent chills up my spine. So I decided to read it. I have
to admit I laughed, I cried, I giggled, and I sighed. The
part I liked best was at the end, when Helen apologizes to
her mom and her mom forgives her for the accident. Your book
not only helped me understand my family, but it opened my
eyes and helped me see that some things are just an accident
and can be overcome. Your book was so good it made me want
to read more, and so I have, including all of your other books!
So thank you Mary Downing Hahn, Thank You.
Sincerely,
Traci Tangney
Traci Tangney
5th Grade
Glacier Valley School, Juneau, Alaska
Teacher: Florence Hayward
