"Harriet the Spy" was one of my favorite books when I was a child. Imitating Harriet, I carried a notebook and created a spy route for myself. Sadly I discovered that I didn't really like egg creams.

For many years I tried to find out more about Harriet's creator, Louise Fitzhugh, but there was simply nothing available. I was THRILLED to hear about this book, and devoured it happily, like a tomato sandwich! I learned a lot about Fitzhugh--I didn't know that she considered herself more a visual artist than a writer, or that she carried around a book as a child herself, but it was a SKETCH book, not a notebook! She died way too young, and so suddenly that she didn't properly look after her legacy, leaving it in the hands of her (closeted) final lover, who didn't want the public to know anything about Louise's private life. Unfortunately, much of her work still seems to be under tight control--there are very few pictures here, and none of her art work has been reproduced. Two children's books she co-wrote with Sandra Scoppetone are out of print because of quarrels with the executor's estate.

I would love to have more of Louise Fitzhugh, but this will have to do for now. Thank you to Leslie Brody, for all the research and work she has done in bringing a favorite childhood author back to life.