The Lady Hermes

My family started visiting Captiva Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida when Lizzy (seen in the photo below) was about three years old. Our hosts have been three of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet, the Jensen brothers, John, Dave and Jimmy, (John is absent from the picture for everyone needs a day off – right?) They run the Jensen's Twin Palm Cottages and Marina, which is where you can enjoy the Florida as it used to be and still should be.

When we first went to Sanibel and Captiva seeing an alligator was a rare event. In fact, they were an endangered species. This made me sad, not because they are cute and cuddly, but maybe because I was born and raised in the Deep South, swamp water may run in my veins.  Who knows? But I started researching the plight of alligators, and noticed that over the years, they seemed far more plentiful in our part of Florida. The conservation measures that had been enforced over the years had worked. 

When you have a species such as the American Alligator, which is a “keystone species” extinction is a tragedy for many other plants and animals, for they create a habitat for many others through their unique behavior. I discussed the idea for a book about this with Lizzy, who had become a children’s book illustrator, who can perform miracles with plants and animals of the world. Our editor at HarperCollins, Phoebe Yeh, gave us the go-ahead for me to write it and Lizzy to illustrate it as a title in the Lets-Read-and-Find-Out series. After Phoebe had acquired it Melanie Donovan did a wonderful job of seeing it through, which is no easy job for the editor, author, and illustrator of a science book meant for young children who don’t have the whole history of science behind them.

My original title had been WHAT GOOD ARE ALLIGATORS? (which I still prefer, since it strengthens the keystone species theme) but marketing minds preferred WHO LIVES IN AN ALLIGATOR HOLE?

Lizzy and I researched the creature and its habitat both at the Jensen’s and in the Everglades, one of the most fascinating and unique habitats on earth. When the book was done, we agreed that we wanted to dedicate it to the Jensen brothers, in thanks for their hospitality to us over the years, and to the rest of the family, especially Lizzy’s sons, Nicholas and Nigel, who, along with sighting alligators, learned to make friends with pelicans and herons, find seashells, catch fish, and eat the wonderful homemade peppermint ice-cream Dave’s girlfriend Queenie makes and sells. So we did. But as it too often does, laziness, life’s unexpected challenges and the resulting chaos, and general disorder took over and we both forgot to send signed copies to the brothers!

That’s why we had to make a week-long trip to Captiva two weeks ago, to give them their signed copies in person. They were pretty happy, as you can guess from the photo Lizzy’s husband Ken Alcorn took! 

Thanks again, guys!