This is an Author profile for my last undergrad class, Literature for Children & Adolescents. If Mr. Hatke ever reads this, he should know that my daughter is one of his biggest fans. She was given Zita, the Spacegirl for her 5th birthday and loved it so much that we had to get her the next 2 for Christmas (her b-day is in November). When she opened them, she hugged them to her chest and tried to sneak off to read them even though she had an entire pile of gifts to open! When "Nobody Likes a Goblin" was released, she and I were walking through the bookstore and she snatched it up and said, "Hey! This is by Ben Hatke!" She was 6. I asked, "Who is that?" "He writes Zita!" We bought it immediately. Later that year I was reading her another of her favorites when I looked at the cover and said, "Oh! I didn't know Ben Hatke wrote Julia!" Silly, Mama.

In researching this, I also found an University Bookstore event with Ben and Kazu Kibuishi. Milli's other favorite books are the Amulet series and she plays Emily with her sister all the time (little sister is usually Miskit). If she had been there, she would have died!! Just sayin'. If you are ever in Dallas, we are going to drive the 3 hours to see you!