Q: What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
A: My favorite traditions are the ones that lead up to Christmas Day. I love decorating my house and the tree. Some of the decorations belonged to my grandmother when she was a little girl, and others are from my childhood. I’m particularly fond of the macaroni chain my nephew made for me when he was in preschool. Also, I like wrapping gifts and sending out cards, and I especially like to make Christmas presents.
Q: Did you sing carols a lot as a kid?
A: I did sing carols a lot. Several times my sister and friends and I went caroling in our neighborhood. Sometimes one or the other of our neighbors would host a Christmas party and we would sing carols then, too. Now, as an adult, I love listening to Christmas music, especially to traditional carols.
Q: This is not the first book you’ve written that takes place over the holidays. Your last novel, On Christmas Eve, took place — well, on Christmas Eve. What is it about the season that keeps inspiring you to write about it? Do you feel you still have other holiday stories to tell?
A: There are many things I like about Christmas, but I think I’m especially drawn to the magic of the holiday, which is what I tried to convey in On Christmas Eve, and to a certain extent in ’Tis the Season. Given my feelings about Christmas, this is probably not the last holiday story I’ll write!
Q: Every year, you send out Christmas cards “starring” your pets. What were some of your favorites?
A: There have been many pet holiday cards, but my favorites have been the ones featuring Sadie, my dog. Sadie is very cooperative and has been photographed sitting in Santa’s lap (at a holiday party for pets given by her vet), and in front of the fireplace wearing fleece doggie pajamas while waiting for Santa. One photo was simply a close-up of Sadie’s delicately crossed front paws — when you look closely at the photo you can see that her toenails had been painted red and green. (Don’t worry — I removed the polish immediately and then washed her feet.)
Q: Like Flora, I know you like to make presents as much as receiving them. What are some of your favorite presents that you’ve made?
A: For years now I’ve made holiday outfits for the kids in my life — my nephew, godchildren, friends’ children, cousins’ children. Most of the outfits feature smocking for the girls and younger children, but I also have fun knitting sweaters, hats, and scarves. I start planning my holiday stitching in August every year, because it takes so long to make everything. I look forward to my autumn sewing all year long.
Author photo © Dion Ogust
ANN M. MARTIN lives in upstate New York in a town not unlike Camden Falls. She loves to sew and loves to take walks with her dog, Sadie. She also has two cats, Gussie and Woody.
Ann’s acclaimed novels include Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor), Here Today, A Dog’s Life, and On Christmas Eve. Her much-loved series The Babysitters Club has sold over 176 million copies since it began.
To find out more about Ann, please visit
www.scholastic.com/mainstreet
Illustrations by Dan Andreason
Copyright © 2007 by Ann M. Martin. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, October 2007
Cover art by Dan Andreason
Cover design by Steve Scott
eISBN 978-0-545-29567-3
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Ann M. Martin, 'Tis the Season
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