Here’s the thing about Lucy Rose: She lives in Washington, D.C. She’s so close to the Capitol of the United States that she can walk to it whenever she feels like it, usually with her grandparents’ dog, Gumbo, and sometimes with her grandparents themselves, Madam and Pop. Lucy Rose’s dad says she is one smart cookie, but her mom says she’s a handful. Pop says she’s “an original thinker,” which according to him is an excellent thing to be and unusual in an 8-year-old. Lucy Rose has a lot of things to think about. Her parents have gotten a separation, which is why Lucy Rose and her mom left Ann Arbor and moved to Washington. So now she’s the new kid on Capitol Hill and the new kid in school. She doesn’t have any friends yet, but does have an enemy and his name is Melonhead.

Another thing Lucy Rose is big on is plans, especially during the summer after third grade. According to her Shiralee's Beauty Spot calendar, there are 91 days to fill up. One plan is to go to Parks & Rec and learn how to make a keychain out of gimp. Another is to get those utterly bothersome squirrels to stop taking one bite out of every apricot on Madam's tree and that job is a lot harder than it sounds. Even harder to stop, and plenty more bothersome, is Ashley. She is new and has blond braids and gets everything in this world, but she is not the nicest. Sometimes she is the meanest. I don't believe you will like her any better than Lucy Rose does, which is not one speck. You can find out exactly what is going on in Lucy Rose: Big on Plans.

In September 2006, you saw Lucy Rose: Busy Like You Can't Believe. I can believe it because I wrote it, but you might be surprised by all the things she has to do. One is act in the school play. Another thing that takes up a lot of time is eavesdropping. Plus Ashley hasn't gotten any better.

Luckily for you and for me, because I do not like to write about dull people, Lucy Rose is a problem solver and an optimist, and, as she says, “most of the time I am plain hilarious.”

Now for the part about you: if you’re reading and enjoying the Lucy Rose books, one thing I know is that you are plain hilarious too. And I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for reading Lucy Rose. Thank you for telling your friends about her. One more thing: If you write me an e-mail, I’ll write you one back.

Very sincerely yours,
Katy Kelly

P.S. I just finished the fourth book. If you think of a good title for it, please let me know.