Helen Ericson was introduced to Harriet M. Welsch in 1964 when she was nine years old. Ericson has grown up since then and was elated when the estate of Louise Fitzhugh granted her and Delacorte Press permission to continue Harriet’s story in a companion book.
The author lives in a small town in the Midwest with two teenage daughters, a young son, and a large cat named Goldfinger. She has degrees in both religion and law, but practices neither. Instead, she is a working journalist who also plays tennis, reads, skis, and sometimes moderates household debates.
Like Harriet M. Welsch, Helen Ericson believes firmly in the importance of muscular verbs and interesting adjectives. Trounce and bestial are among her favorites.
Louise Fitzhugh (1928–1974) was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Bard College, studied art in Italy and France, and continued her studies in New York at the Art Students League and at Cooper Union. Her books Harriet the Spy, The Long Secret, and Sport have been acclaimed as milestones of children’s literature. These classics delight readers year after year.
