It's snowing and blowing up a storm here in Maine this morning, but I got a summery little present from Scholastic yesterday that warms me, even with the wind knocking on the windows. My first hardcover copy.

I see and sometimes use the convenience of ebooks when I read, but it doesn't compare to running your hand over a glossy book jacket and the smell of real pages. A whole world inside a sharp-cornered little rectangle.

Here's a little secret about the cover. It was made from several photos together, but the lake behind the kids is Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire, a photo taken by my husband one night when he and I went on a boat ride, and I sat with my notebook on my knees and recorded pages and pages of details for Half a Chance.

Here's my husband's original photo.