TRIVIA ABOUT
HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL
1. My friend’s daughter, Cara, asked me to put her in my next book, even if it was only a minor character. So I did. And now Cara will have to read HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL to find out where she appears.
2. Elliott is the first name of David’s (former) best friend. It’s also the last name of my wonderful editor.
3. I named David’s cousin Jack for my dad, Jack. “Hi, Dad!”
4. Ms. Bonino, the principal at the fictional Longwood El is the real principal at our son’s middle school. She used to be the elementary school principal and really did hug the kids and remember all of their names. She totally rocks!
5. WHMS news anchor is named after my sister, Ellen Winser. My other sister is Sherry, as in Aunt Sherry, who also appears in the book. The real Sherry, though, is a way more attentive parent than the character in my book.
6. Jupiter Academy of Music (J.A.M.) is a real music school, located in Jupiter, Florida and owned by my lovely and talented friend, Sandra Baran.
7. Mr. Milot, the science teacher in the book, is a wonderful math teacher from Pennsylvania. He and I did our student teaching together, and he was a fine friend, especially the day I had car trouble and he followed me home (over an hour each way) just to make sure I arrived safely. Thank you, Fran!
8. Ms. Petroccia is not only the media specialist in the book, she’s also the uber-fabulous, real-life media specialist at our local middle school.
9. David’s dad used to play in a band called Widow’s Kiss. That’s the name of my hubby’s band from when he was a teenager. Hubby also plays a Fender Strat like David’s dad. He occasionally plays the mandolin, too. “Rock on, uber-hubby!”
10. Bensalem, Pennsylvania is not boring, like it says in my book. Members of our family live there. And we used to live there, too. But the main road really is called Street Road.
11. Hermy, mentioned near the end of the book, was the name of my wonderful agent’s hamster when she was in fourth grade.
12. David’s sister, Lindsay, likes a boy named Denny J. Michaels. Well, those are the names of my hubby’s three awesome brothers: Denny, Jay and Michael. “Hi, guys!”
13. When I was a kid, Mr. Popper’s Penguins was my favorite book. And ever since reading that book, I’ve loved penguins. But not to the degree that David’s mother is obsessed by them.
(Bits of an author’s real life always creep into her stories. One never knows when or how those bits will show up. It’s fun to notice them and to include a friend or family member’s name in a story.)
2. Elliott is the first name of David’s (former) best friend. It’s also the last name of my wonderful editor.
3. I named David’s cousin Jack for my dad, Jack. “Hi, Dad!”
4. Ms. Bonino, the principal at the fictional Longwood El is the real principal at our son’s middle school. She used to be the elementary school principal and really did hug the kids and remember all of their names. She totally rocks!
5. WHMS news anchor is named after my sister, Ellen Winser. My other sister is Sherry, as in Aunt Sherry, who also appears in the book. The real Sherry, though, is a way more attentive parent than the character in my book.
6. Jupiter Academy of Music (J.A.M.) is a real music school, located in Jupiter, Florida and owned by my lovely and talented friend, Sandra Baran.
7. Mr. Milot, the science teacher in the book, is a wonderful math teacher from Pennsylvania. He and I did our student teaching together, and he was a fine friend, especially the day I had car trouble and he followed me home (over an hour each way) just to make sure I arrived safely. Thank you, Fran!
8. Ms. Petroccia is not only the media specialist in the book, she’s also the uber-fabulous, real-life media specialist at our local middle school.
9. David’s dad used to play in a band called Widow’s Kiss. That’s the name of my hubby’s band from when he was a teenager. Hubby also plays a Fender Strat like David’s dad. He occasionally plays the mandolin, too. “Rock on, uber-hubby!”
10. Bensalem, Pennsylvania is not boring, like it says in my book. Members of our family live there. And we used to live there, too. But the main road really is called Street Road.
11. Hermy, mentioned near the end of the book, was the name of my wonderful agent’s hamster when she was in fourth grade.
12. David’s sister, Lindsay, likes a boy named Denny J. Michaels. Well, those are the names of my hubby’s three awesome brothers: Denny, Jay and Michael. “Hi, guys!”
13. When I was a kid, Mr. Popper’s Penguins was my favorite book. And ever since reading that book, I’ve loved penguins. But not to the degree that David’s mother is obsessed by them.
(Bits of an author’s real life always creep into her stories. One never knows when or how those bits will show up. It’s fun to notice them and to include a friend or family member’s name in a story.)
