Christal Cooper
1,992
Words / 4,221 words with excerpt
Christina Lewis:
One Book At A Time
Lewis is the oldest of five. Her
father, Michael Lewis, is a professional jazz/blues musician and world-class
guitarist. Her family lived in numerous
states (Tennessee, Washington, and Oregon) and traveled extensively to give
concerts and workshops around the country. As a result, all five children were
homeschooled and never attended a traditional school. Because of this, Lewis grew up with a great love
for adventure — and for books and storytelling.
When she was seven years old, she read Black
Beauty, which made her cry and led her to two revelations.
“It was really
remarkable. I don’t cry easily, so to
have something make me cry — to move me to that depth of emotion — was a very
powerful experience for me. I realized
that people had written these stories; that they didn’t just magically appear
in books. And from that time forward, I
knew I wanted to be a writer. The very
first story I wrote was Rosie The Deer.
It was very simplistic and would
definitely quality as a children’s book today.”
Another book would cross Lewis’s path and
make an incredible mark on her life. It
was November of 1995, when Lewis was 11 years old, and the family traveled to
Minnesota on a concert tour where her father was performing. In Minnesota, the family met a teacher who
gave Lewis a copy of Indian In the Cupboard by Lynne Reid
Banks (http://www.lynnereidbanks.com/index.html), and Lewis fell in
love with the book — even more so than she had fallen in love with Black
Beauty.
“When I read the book, I
was enchanted by it. It had such a
profound impact on me because the writing was so good. It was such a fast-paced book and kept you on
the edge of your seat. The characters
were so real that you could believe [that] somewhere in England, there is a boy
who has a 3-inch Indian and he can make toys come to life from his cupboard.
“One of the scenes that
really stood out to me in the book was where the main character Omri allows
this Indian to choose one horse. The
Indian says, ‘Just one?’ And Omri says, ‘I
cannot have herds of horses galloping all over my room.’ I love horses, so much, of course. The idea of having a herd of horses galloping
all over in my room was amazing, almost indescribable.”
In 2003, when Lewis was 19, her family completed
a three-month northwest tour. They
temporarily settled in St. Louis, where Lewis worked 80 hours a week at the mall
during the Christmas season.
During that
time, she read The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien for the first time. She was totally enthralled by the story and
decided to write her own novel.
“I’d work seven days a
week, 80 hours a week, and then come home and write for three to four hours a
night. I finished the book in two months
and had it edited in two more months.”
Lewis submitted her 100,000-word manuscript to Arbor
Books , based in New York City, New York — only to be offered a job as a
ghostwriter. She has been on staff for
Arbor Books ever since. http://www.arborbooks.com
“It was really quite
remarkable how I ended up in the industry. So I’ve written memoirs, fiction books in
various genres, a screenplay; and I enjoyed it immensely. I’ve done everything from ghostwriting to
editing, to helping people complete their own outlines in preparation for
writing their own books, to story consulting — which is one of my favorite
things. I love story consulting, and
watching another story and its characters and its plot take shape is just near
and dear to my heart.”
In 2005, Lewis and her family returned to
Nashville, Tennessee, where Lewis experienced — on a very remarkable sunny
morning — what would be her first conceived idea of The Cheese Pirates: Cheddar
Island.
“I
remember it very clearly. A friend sent
me an instant message and I was talking with him. And for whatever reason, I was in a very
comedic mood. He asked me how my day was
going and I just made up this wild story about mice sailing around in my
kitchen in plastic margarine tubs and fighting with knives and forks over the
cheese in my refrigerator. I called them
the Cheese Pirates. It was completely off
the cuff (and) it was hilarious. I knew,
when I made all of that up, that I would need to do something with it — from a
writer’s perspective — later on.”
For the next three years, she wrote down
ideas for her cheese pirate mice and their adventures on scrap pieces of paper
and placed them in a plastic butter container.
“I’d
take paper and scribble random notes into it about different ideas, different
characters, their sidekicks and their attributes and what makes them who they
are as characters.”
In 2008, the family moved to Spokane,
Washington, and Lewis dug into that butter tub of ideas and considered developing
the story into a novel.
“I arranged the characters — in a sense — like a chessboard. It wasn’t intentional that way, but as I started
to draw up the characters I realized the different characters fit in the role
of chess pieces.”
Developing the story into a novel included more
than writing, but research. Much of her
research was unintentionally conducted on the road, which included a brief
visit to Lake Erie in 1995.
“I
was very moved by Lake Erie. I visited Lake
Erie on a stormy day and it looked just like an ocean, and you couldn’t see the
other side and there were waves. Later
on, in conjunction with Cheese Pirates, it would be like a sea for mice; and of
course I automatically assumed that the Cheese Pirates would be based in
Wisconsin.”
Lewis’s youngest brother, Jordan, had
other ideas of where the pirates would be based. At his sister’s request, he found the best
location for her Cheese Pirates.
“He
went onto Google Maps and a couple of hours later he said, ‘Christina, I want
you to take a look at this. I found the perfect place for your Cheese Pirates.’
And he pulled up a map of Tillamook Bay
and it was pretty incredible.”
Tillamook Bay is actually located on the
Oregon coast in the Pacific Ocean; but in Lewis’s world it is the wonder
cheddar land belonging only to her mice pirates who explore the area of
Tillamook Bay: The Isle of Bleu Cheese, Cheddarton, the Black Castle, Mermouse
Cove, and Mouseport.
Lewis also spent two years researching
pirates, both imaginary and real, and the impact that pirates had on history.
“I found out how
instrumental they were in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, for
instance. I hadn’t realized what a role
they actually played in world politics until I started doing all this research
on them.
“And then I did research
on literary pirates, the legends of pirates, and I ended up finding a movie
called Captain Blood. I was leery of the title at first (because) I
don’t like anything that is really gory, but it was done in 1935 and I decided
to watch it. I was completely captured
by it immediately.
“It introduced an actor
named Errol Flynn, and it was his first role. Errol Flynn rose to stardom overnight because
of the movie Captain Blood. Hollywood has not seen, before or since, a
rise to stardom quite like his. He was
just amazing in Captain Blood, a
true ship’s captain.”
Captain Blood is about Dr. Peter Blood, who dedicates
his life to helping individuals on both sides of the Monmouth Rebellion, in
which a coup tried to overthrow King James II after he succeeded the throne
upon the death of his older brother Charles II. Dr. Blood is sentenced to death for treason against
King James II. King James II decides to
sell Dr. Blood into slavery for profit. Arabella
Bishop (portrayed by Olivia de Havilland), the niece of the local commander Colonel
Bishop (portrayed by Lionel Atwill), purchases Dr. Blood as her slave, where he
labors in the South American plantation fields and is treated very badly,
despite her many efforts to make his life better. Eventually Dr. Blood saves a town from being
invaded by Spanish pirates, and manages, with his fellow slaves, to seize
control of the Spanish pirate ship and thus becomes the Pirate Captain Blood.
In Lewis’s young adult novel, Pepper Jack is a charismatic leader like Captain Peter Blood. Pepper Jack, in order to save a sea mouse, leaps down a sea monster's throat. A sea mouse that Pepper Jack tries to save could symbolize Dr. Peter Blood’s patients on both sides of the rebellion. And, like Dr Peter Blood is punished for trying to save lives; Pepper Jack is punished for trying to save the sea mouse's life, which gets him thrown out of the West Tillamook Trading Company. His career is over - until the WTTC desperately needs a hero. The PiRats, equivalent of Captain Blood's Spanish pirates, have invaded Tillamook bay. Merchant galleons with rich cargos of cheese and root beer never return from the dreaded Ghost Lagoon. Seamice desert the docks in droves. Leading a brave crew against the PiRats' black fleet, Pepper Jack has one chance to defeat Tillamook Bay's greatest adversary - and one last chance at redemption.
“I basically created this mini-sailing culture — seamice, and instead of horses and wagons, they have rabbit-drawn
carriages and rabbit caravans. They ship
in all of their goods by rabbit caravans. It’s all very elaborate and it turned into its
own culture but, instead of being a part of our world, it’s somewhere slightly
removed.”
Of course, reading a book is much easier than writing one, and for Lewis, writing The Cheese Pirates: Cheddar Island was no easy task. It too lots of hard work, lots of research, and even Divine Inspiration.
"It was December of 2009 and Mom had decorated our living room for Christmas (and) there were blue lights on the mantle. We had this model ship - a clipper - sitting on the mantle next to a couple of Beanie Babies. the lights were all off in the living room, and I walked into the living room and the blue lights were shining on the hull of the clipper and these two Beanie Baby characters and I stood there. It was like Divine Inspiration and I can't put it any other way. And I saw them (my characters) and I saw it (the story), and it was so clear. I walked into the kitchen and said, 'Mom, my hero's name is Captan Pepper Jack and he sails on the Parmesan. My mom completely fell in love with the idea and I went right upstairs and finished the writing what would be the Cheese Pirates."
Most of the writing of The Cheese Pirates: Cheddar Island took place in her loft room of her family home in Spokane, Washington, located in a valley at the foothills of the mountains surrounded by pine trees.
"There is a fireplace and windows that overlook the pine forest and it's beautiful up there. And that room really gets sunny."
Once the novel was completed and published, Lewis made the next step of getting The Cheese Pirates endorsed by writers she adored, and the writer to top her list was Lynne Reid Banks, author of The Indian In the Cupboard.
"Lynne Reid Banks agreed to endorse The Cheese Pirates Cheddar Island. She actually read it, loved it and endorsed it, which is so incredible because I studied her book so much as a kid."
Lewis splits her time between the family-home in
Spokane, Washington, and her apartment that she shares with her two brothers in
Seattle, Washington.
The Shark’s Mouth
Tavern was crowded with retired sailormice that evening, all guzzling root
beer and playing card games. A grasshopper struck up a lively tune on his
fiddle, nestling the instrument between his wings and using his hind leg as a
bow. A mouse hammered out chords on the standup piano, and their audience
accompanied them with boot stomping and clapping and loud shouts. Several
gentlemice and their pretty mouseladies whirled and laughed on the dance floor.
Pepper Jack burst through the double doors and found himself
in the middle of a party. Several mice looked up at Jack, but most went back to
their activities—except for two rough-looking seamice seated at a table near
the door.
“Hey.” One mouse nudged the other. “That’s him.”
The other grunted, his eyes glittering with ill intent.
Jack never noticed them. Redemption, at last, was within his
grasp. If he held the good news inside for much longer, he’d surely explode.
His gaze swept over the exuberant throng, then he grinned and strode to the
counter. He thumped a burly mouse on the back.
“Evenin’, Somerset Brie! Long time no see!”
Brie glanced over his shoulder. “Why, if it isn’t Pepper
Jack. Where’ve you been the last two months, you rascal? I almost sent the SOS
sparrows to find you!”
Jack leaned against the counter, nearly shouting over the
din. “The master of a rabbit train keeps busy, you know—but not too busy to
catch up with his best friend.”
Brie’s eyebrows curled mischievously. “I know you well
enough to tell when there’s more to it than that, Jack. Sit down, and we’ll
have a round of root beers on me.”
“You’re too kind, my old shipmate.”
“Just trying to whet your whistle, is all.” The mischievous
expression didn’t last long on a good-natured face like Brie’s, and he smiled
as he snapped his fingers at the busy bartender.
“In due time, my friend,” promised Jack, selecting a stool
beside Brie. “What’s new with you?”
“Not much, really.” Brie huddled closer to Jack so they
could talk over the noise. “Actually, I’m thinking of compiling legends from
Tillamook Bay.”
Jack stared at him. “You’re writing a book?”
Brie shrugged. “Not yet, but I want to. Ordinary mousefolk
might enjoy tales from an old seadog like myself, and I could earn a little
extra coin to hasten my retirement.”
The bartender slid a mug across the polished counter. Jack
expertly caught it, sloshing foam over the rim. “What sort of tales did you
have in mind?”
“Oh, the usual fare,” answered Brie, catching his own mug.
“How Mermouse Cove got its name, the dreaded Eagle’s Stare, the legend of
Cheddar Island—”
“Wait, what?” Jack looked up from slurping foam. “What’s the
legend of Cheddar Island?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard that one? I’ve known it all my life.
Cheddar Island is a forgotten cave where PiRats of old supposedly hid their
treasure. The stories tell of vast caverns full of aged cheese, the finest
apple cider, ancient root beer…”
Jack gulped. “You’re making me hungry.” He lifted a paw and
flagged down the bartender. “A plate of cheese curls, if you please.”
Brie stared thoughtfully into his mug. “They say Cheddar
Island’s treasure was stolen from all over the world, and that great
fortune—and great perils—will come to the mouse who finds it.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “An excellent tale of mystery and
adventure. Well told, Brie. Your book holds a lot of promise.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
“You’re welcome. How is Asiago and life at the Mouseport Inn?”
“Can’t complain, really.” The bartender approached, and Brie
reached for a cheese curl before the plate touched the counter. “Asiago lurks
in the stable loft to throw alfalfa down for the rabbits, and he has keen ears.
He hears all the Mouseport gossip and repeats it to me later. I take care of
the rabbit steeds—brushing them down, feeding and watering them. Several
traveling mice frequent the inn, and their rabbits have become very friendly
when they see me.”
“A rabbit always loves the paws that feed it,” observed Jack
with a chuckle. He reached for a cheese curl, then changed his mind. His secret
took precedence over his appetite. “Does Asiago still talk of joining the
rabbit trains?”
“Talk about it?” Brie laughed around a mouthful of orange
crumbs. “He won’t shut up about it! He about fell out of the loft when he found
out you’d been made a rabbit train master, and he lives for the day you’ll come
and take us away. Say, is that what brings you here, aside from the reputation
of the root beer? Has a position opened up?”
“Well, there is a position,” conceded Jack. “I’ve come to
ask you to leave your job behind, and also to postpone your illustrious writing
career and retirement, but it isn’t what you think. Does the mention of PiRats
mean anything to you?”
Brie looked puzzled. “Aye, Jack, but it’s all tales these
days. There’s a fair chance that PiRats once sailed in Tillamook Bay, but
they’re ancient history now. Old Salt Gouda has been spreading myths about a
new group of rats terrorizing the shipping lines.”
“Who’s Old Salt Gouda?” wondered Jack.
Brie subtly aimed a thumb at a pale yellow mouse in the
corner. Old Salt Gouda hunched over a mug of root beer, staring into it with
strange ruby eyes.
Jack tugged thoughtfully at his whiskers, studying Old Salt
Gouda as Brie leaned close and continued. “He claims that a black ship haunts
the mouth of Mermouse Cove—or Ghost Lagoon, as he calls it. They come out of
nowhere and waylay unlucky ships traveling that route. Then they steal the
cargo, enslave the crew, and leave the hulking shipwreck as a warning.
Imaginative tale, really. Perhaps I’ll put it in my book.”
Brie chuckled, but Jack swirled his mug and watched the dark
liquid slosh around. “Except for the ghost ship, the rest is true.”
“Come on, Jack.” Brie whopped him on the back. “You’ve
listened to wild tales from seamice fresh off the Ricotta’s lifeboats. Remember another shipwrecked crew from a
decade ago that managed to survive at sea for three weeks? Our own Gouda was
one of them. The SOS Sparrows dragged in the poor souls half-starved and nigh
crazy, and they spread talk of a giant squid that emerged from the deep, coiled
all its arms around their galleon, and ate it.” Brie laughed. “Imagine, a
kraken choking down a wooden ship with all paws aboard, sails and ropes and
all, and cheese and root beer in the hold! Those loony mice were the
laughingstock of Mouseport, and no wonder.”
Jack studied Brie with a calculating glint in his eye. “The
kraken aside, would you believe a tale about PiRats from the captain himself?”
“Captain Stilton?” Brie scoffed. “I heard Stilton didn’t
make it, and I’m more apt to believe that. I served under Stilton for five
years. I know him. He’d follow the rulebook straight to the bottom of the sea
or die trying. He’d have gone down with his ship simply because it’s tradition.
But if he were captured, he’d consider it his duty to escape and liberate the
others. The PiRats likely would’ve made an example of him and forced him to
walk the plank by now. Whoever said he abandoned the Ricotta spun enough yarn to knit a sweater for a sea monster.”
Jack swilled half his root beer, plunked his mug on the
counter, and grinned. “Here’s a tale you won’t believe, Brie. Stilton most
certainly survived—unless I’ve been speaking with his ghost, that is. I spent
the lunch hour as his honored guest in the commodore’s office.”
Brie stared at Jack, then burst out laughing. “Very funny,
Jack, but I haven’t had quite enough root beer to swallow that one!” He saluted
Jack with a hoist of his mug and had another swig.
Jack’s grin widened until he looked more cat than mouse.
“They were all manner of pleasant to me—the commodore and Captain Stilton both.
The commodore not only reinstated me as a seamouse, but he offered me the
command of the Parmesan.”
Brie sputtered and choked on his root beer. “Enough of your
jokes, Pepper Jack. Any more of them, and I’m liable to drown—on land, no
less!”
“Is that an order, Commander?”
Brie stiffened, then slowly lowered his mug. “I—I beg your
pardon?”
Jack looked fit to burst. “It defies the chain of command,
for a first mate to be issuing orders to his captain, but I suppose we could
make an exception for old time’s sake.”
Brie stared blankly at his best friend. Jack laughed and
thumped him on the back as the music ended. Applause filled the Shark’s Mouth, and Jack leaned close to
Brie again, abruptly serious.
“It’s not a joke, Brie. Commodore Roquefort offered me the Parmesan because he wants to rid
Tillamook Bay of PiRats and rescue the seamice. I’m here to ask you to be my
first mate. What say you to that?”
Before Brie could dredge up an intelligent response, an
eerie voice interrupted them. “It’ll end in disaster, mark me words!”
Jack and Brie looked over their shoulders to find Old Salt
Gouda hovering behind them, his crazed ruby eyes gleaming over grizzled gray
whiskers. Gouda’s threadbare tunic was grimy from a life spent haunting the
docks, and the strong smells of old cheese and too much root beer wafted around
him.
“Oh, aye? What’ll end in disaster, pray tell?” wondered
Jack.
“All yer plans, ye whey-faced barnacle,” retorted Gouda,
folding his arms over his ratty tunic. “Ye don’t know this sea!”
Brie exchanged glances with Jack. “How much did you hear,
Old Salt?”
Gouda turned his challenging glare on Brie. “I heard enough,
ya woodenheaded scupperlout. I know yer breed o’ labbermice, an’ I say ye pups
have no bizz-niss sailin’ these treacherous waters! But young an’ foolish ye
are, and ye won’t take the word o’ a true seamouse with saltwater runnin’
strong in his veins.” A crazier light entered his red eyes, and he came so
close to Jack that the powerful odor of stale cheese nearly knocked him over.
“Ye don’t know the PiRats.”
“Nor do I intend to become acquainted with them, me hearty,”
answered Jack cheerfully, leaning beyond reach of Gouda’s toxic breath. “They
don’t sound very pleasant.”
“An’ ye can crack jokes, ye saucy rogue!” Gouda straightened
up with an expression of pitying contempt. “I’ve heard tell o’ ye, Pepper Jack,
an’ while ye be a strappin’ fine specimen, ye lack a vital feature: Brains.
Ye’re a thunderin’ madmouse to take back to sea, chasin’ rats an’ temptin’
fate, after ye were lucky enough to see another sunrise at the other end o’
leapin’ down a monster’s gullet. Whaddaya think ya are, a bloomin’ cat? Ye
haven’t got nine lives!”
Jack smiled, amused. “No, indeed, I have but one life. It’s
plenty for me, thank you, and I shall have my fill of adventure before it’s
over.”
Gouda shook his head gravely. “Ye confounded urchin, haven’t
ye ears? Ye won’t have no more adventures after ye meet the dread PiRats, an’
no mistake. Mark me words—both o’ ye. The PiRats are the blackest kind o’
plague that ever darkened the seas—blacker, even, than the devil kraken that
ate me ship! Some o’ the best seamice in the Company perished that day, rest
their souls, an’ ye young whelps aim to lock horns with the truest scourge o’
the sea there ever was. Where be the sense in that?”
“More sense than sitting here in the Shark’s Mouth, swilling root beer,” said Brie quietly.
Gouda stared openmouthed at Brie. Just as his whiskers began
to bristle with outrage, Jack chuckled and clapped his shoulder.
“Easy, mate. My friend here means that we have not yet had
our fill of the sea, but we thank you for your advice. Perhaps you have not yet
had your fill of root beer?”
Scowling, Gouda shook off Jack’s paw and scratched his
grungy ear. “I reckon I can call for me own drink,” he grumbled.
Jack snapped his fingers at the bartender. “I insist. I’ve
heard that your drinking skills are legendary. If Tillamook Bay were made of
root beer instead of water, you’d have drunk us dry by now, and there’d be no
sailing for anymouse.”
Gouda blinked at Jack, at a loss for words. Before he could
think up a retort, he found another mug of root beer thrust into his paws.
Muttering to himself in the most colorful terms about foolish young seamice,
Gouda carried his prize to a corner table—parting the crowd with his signature
aroma—and hunched over it to resume his silent contemplation.
Grinning, Jack sat down as the musicians struck up another
tune. “And that, as they say, is that.”
Brie saluted Jack with his mug. “You’ve become quite the
diplomat, Pepper Jack,” he commented, gulping down root beer. “I shall enjoy
seeing you and Captain Stilton spar once again. This time, he may come out on
the short end!”
Excerpt
from The
Pirates Cheddar Cheese Island
Chapter 7
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photograph Description And Copyright Information
Photo 1
Christina Lewis
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 2
Jacket
cover of The Cheese Pirates Cheddar Island
Photo 3
Web logo for Galleon Books
Photo 4
The Lewis Family (Christina is sitting far right)
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 5
Cover
of the novel Black Beauty, first edition 1877, published by London: Jarrold and
Sons
Public
Domain
Photo
6
Anna
Sewell
Attributor
Unknown
Public
Domain
Photo 7
Christina leaning on the back of her little Paso Fino, Mika. Copyright
granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 8
Jacket
cover The Indian In The Cupboard
Photo 9
Jacket
cover of a biography on Lynne Reid Banks by Sherri
Sheri Liberman
Photo 10
Movie poster of The Indian In The Cupboard
Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo 11
Image of horses galloping
Attributed to Christina Lewis
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 12
St. Louis, Missouri
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 13
Jacket cover of The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Photo 14
Image of J.R.R. Tolkien in 1916, during which he served in the British
Military services.
Public Domain
Photo 15
St. Louis Mills Mall
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 16
Arbor Books web logo
Photo 17
Christina Lewis
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 18
Hand made copy of The Pirate’s Cheddar Island that
Christina Lewis sent to Lynne Reid Banks
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis.
Photo 19
Mice in boats
Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo 20
Little boat made from a small butter tub.
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 21
Mice in boats
Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo 22
The Lewis Family home in Spokane, Washington
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis.
Photo 23
Mice chessboard set
Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo 24
Lake Erie
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 25
Tillamook Bay the Cheese Factory (established in 1909) with the famous
Morning Star clipper out front
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 26
Jordan Lewis
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 27
View of Tillamook Bay
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 28
Tillamook Bay featured in The Cheese Pirates Cheddar Island
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 29
British caricature of John Paul Jones (July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792), a Scottish
sailor and the United States'
first well-known naval
fighter in the American
Revolutionary War. He was
also known as the pirate during the American Revolutionary War.
Public Domain
Photo 30
Anonymous painting thought to be of Jean Lafitte, a pirate during the War of
1812.
Located at the Rosenberg Library in Galveston, Texas
Public Domain
Photo 31
This
image shows a photograph of Errol Flynn, taken ca. 1940. Under Australian law,
all photographs taken in Australia before 1955 are in the public domain. This
image is in the public domain under both Australian copyright law and US
copyright law.
Photo 32
Captain Blood poster (and movie cover - the same one I have)
Photo 33
Public
Domain
Photo 34
Pepper Jack
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 35
Illustration
of mice climbing a mountain
Illustration
completed in 1941
First
appeared in An Episode In The History of the Lake District
Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law
Photo 36
Christina Lewis
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 37
Jacket cover of The Cheese Pirate’s Cheddar Island
Photo 38
The Lewis Family home in Spokane, Washington
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 39
Christina Lewis and man’s best friend
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 40
Jacket cover of a biography on Lynne Reid Banks by Sheri Liberman
Photo 41
The award-winning cover, Christina’s copy of The Indian in the Cupboard
Copyright granted by Christina Lewis
Photo 42
Jacket cover of The Cheese Pirates Cheddar Island
