We’re thrilled to Skinny Dip with outstanding educator Suzanne Costner, Thanks to Suzanne for answer our questions during her very busy end-of-the-school-year hours.
Who was your favorite teacher in grades K-7 and why?
My favorite teacher was Mrs. Hill in 4th grade. She read to us every day after lunch: Stuart Little, WheretheRedFernGrows, James and the Giant Peach.… more
Memories of my childhood are imperfect. Yours, too?
I don’t remember having a lot of books as a child. I remember The Poky Little Puppy and another dog book (title unknown) and Three Little Kittens (perhaps a reminder to me to keep track of my mittens).
I remember using the school library voraciously to read books. I had no access to the public library (too far away) so that school library was my lifeline.… more
What keeps you up at night?
My cats biting my feet.
Describe your favorite pair of pajamas ever
A student got me sushi pajamas. What could be better?
In what Olympic sport would you like to win a gold medal?
Figure Skating. However, this is very unlikely.
What’s the first book you remember reading?
There’s a Monster at the End of this Book
What TV show can’t you turn off?… more
This year, Hal Borland’s Book of Days migrates upstairs with me to read during my afternoon rest and before bed. It’s a daily journal beginning January 1, written from his farm in rural Connecticut, meant to help him answer the questions: Who am I? Where am I? What time is it? At 68, I ask those questions, too. Borland’s entries mix mid-70s science with New England lore, his natural observations of the seasons with his own quiet musings.
January 6: Frost flowers fascinate me. They are related to frost ferns, those intricate patterns that formed on windowpanes before we slept in heated bedrooms. Frost ferns were indoor plants, created by the humidity in the room. Frost flowers are wildlings, outdoor grows created by humidity in the starlight.
Books swept me away, one after the other, this way and that; I made endless vows according to their lights, for I believed them. (Annie Dillard, An American Childhood)
It’s hard to say which came first: did I adopt traits of the main character in certain books I read, or did I gravitate towards those books because I already had those traits?… more