The Ickabog

New York: Scholastic Inc., 2020. First Edition . Hard Back. Fine/Fine. 6" x 9. 274 Pages. Gift Quality. Colorfil Illustrations throughout. This is a November 2020 First Edition. The idea for The Ickabog came to me a long time ago. The word "Ickabog" derives from "Ichabod," meaning "no glory" or "the glory has departed." I think you'll understand why I chose the name once you've read the story, which deals with themes that have always interested me. What do the monsters we conjure tell us about ourselves? What must happen for evil to get a grip on a person, or on a country, and what does it take to defeat it? Why do people choose to believe lies even on scant or nonexistent evidence? The Ickabog was written in fits and starts between Harry Potter books. The story never underwent any serious modifications. It always started with poor Mrs. Dovetail's death and it always ended ... Well, I won't say how, in case you're coming to it for the first time! I read the story aloud to my two youngest children when they were very small, but I never finished it, much to the frustration of Mackenzie, whose favorite story it was. After I finished the Harry Potter books, I took a five-year break, and when I decided not to publish a children's book next, The Ickabog went up into the attic, still unfinished. There it stayed for over a decade, and there it would probably be still if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't happened and millions of children hadn't been stuck at home, unable to attend school or meet their friends. That's when I had the idea of putting the story online for free and asking children to illustrate it. Down from the attic came the very dusty box of typed and handwritten papers and I set to work.