“Being a storyteller and telling a story will never be a lost art. People and children in particular, still love a good story.”
Mary Higgins Clark

Mary is the “Queen of Suspense,” with 42 books and 80 million copies in print. But she isn’t just a prolific writer, she’s also an avid advocate of reading and believes that early readers are lifelong readers. “When children learn how to read, their imaginations grow, they learn vocabulary, and they go into other worlds.”

For Mary, reading to kids is one of the pleasures of being an author. When an editor suggested that she take a break from adult suspense novels and try her hand at reaching a younger audience, she jumped at the chance. The result: Ghost Ship, which tells the tale of a 16th century cabin boy who saves his vessel and The Magic Christmas Tree, the story of a boy and his broken rocking horse.

Clark loves not just the enthusiasm kids show for good storytelling, but their curiosity and honesty. When she had just started writing, she received a handwritten note from a young man that still makes her laugh. “I had a letter from one youngster I will always cherish that I received after my first book came out in 1975,” Mary recalled at a school where she appeared as a guest author. “It said, ‘Dear Mrs. Clark, I am 13 years old and I have just read the first half of Where Are the Children? You are a wonderful writer. Some day I hope to finish the second half.” Aren’t readers wonderful? Write on!