Alice Blog

Hello to you from the past

Not a question, just a hello. In the 1970s you sold articles/stories to Jerry O’Malley who was the editor of “Catalyst” magazine for youth. I was a copy editor there at Christian Board of Publication in St. Louis. We married on his 40th birthday, March 18, 1973. He thought very highly of you. We both read “Crazy Love.” I am glad to find you here and I wish you well! Jerry died in September 2015. We had moved to Carbondale, Ill., to work at Southern Illinois University. Best wishes!

I wrote a letter to you when I was a kid

 

We just started reading your book, Shiloh. I saw it at the library and had to bring it home to read-aloud to my kids. I read it back in 1994, when I was in fourth grade. I remember writing you a letter then, and you wrote back! I was so excited at the time, and it still warms my heart to think a famous author would take the time to write back to children.

Thank you for producing quality literature that stands the test of time. We are looking forward to finishing up Shiloh and learning more about your life from your website.

 

A big thank you

Dear Phyllis,

i am writing to you from Germany.
I am 32 years old now and when i was about 12 i found a german version of “all but Alice” in my local library. It was a lucky coincidence!
I felt close to Alice from the first chapter on. Also having red hair and a funny bigger brother made it easy for me to connect.
Of course, i wanted to read on and on about Alice’ adventures but after about 6 or 7 books there were no more german editions. So by the age of 13 i begged my parents that i may order the english books. I was just starting to learn english back then, so i wouldnt know if i could understand anything. I couldnt wait for the books to arrive finally and sat down reading with two books – Alice and a dictionary next to each other 🙂
it was my way of learning english and as a nice side effect: my grades in english became very good 🙂
The books always gave me a warm feeling of being understood as a teenager, of seeing how arguments can be solved, how Love can be shown, how friendship looks like. It cured my heart many, many times – then and now. When i was about 23 i read the last book and i couldnt finish it for months because i knew it would make me cry – and read it all over again 🙂

Now, i am in my 30s and cancer hit me two years ago. With having so much time at home and needing to rest i felt like i wanted to read the Alice series again. I was feeling very sad during Chemo the past year but when i re-read about Alice’ adventures, it made me feel safe and happy. It lightened up many dark days.

I just finished the last book again and found out a few weeks ago that my treatment was successful.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your books. I wish all the best to you and your Family:)

 

Thank you!

Hey, I am a big Alice fan from Germany! I’ve started reading the Alice books when I was 9 years old and I’ve been reading them ever since. I am 19 years old and just graduated high school. Currently I’m reading “Alice in charge” where it’s her senior year of high school. Even though Germany and the US are different in some ways, I’ve always felt very connected to everything that the books deal with. It feels like I have been growing up with Alice because I’ve known her and all of her friends for 10 years now. I literally cried for an hour when Mark died, I was devastated. Actually, the first time I’ve cried for a book character was when Mrs Plotkin passed away in the earlier books. I just wanted to tell you, that I love the Alice Series and all of the stories and subjects, the books deal with. I am looking forward to finishing the last few books and finding out how her life continues, but I’m also sad knowing that there aren’t any more books about Alice and the others to read, as you have finished the book series a quite some time ago. I think it would have been interesting to know how their life would be in the current situation with all of social media and a pandemic going on. Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for your Alice books! They have helped and entertained me a lot!!!!

Still Loving Alice as an Adult

 

I’m writing just to share with you how much I love the Alice books. I am 28 years old and about to get married, and this summer have been working my way through the Alice series in order.

I grew up in small-town Indiana, and my local library had most of the Alice books, but I read them all out of order as I was able to get my hands on them. And of course, I think there are at least a couple near the end that I never read, after I went away to college.

I don’t have a question, I only want to thank you for creating these books and characters. As a child, Alice felt like the older sister I never had. As an adult, I just adore the whole McKinley family– especially Lester! I expected this series to be a “nostalgia trip” for me, but instead I find the trials and triumphs of Alice as relatable and captivating now as they were to me nearly twenty years ago.

Thank you, and wishing you all the best,

 

Alice Alone

Hello Mrs. Naylor. The story of Alice’s freshman year touched me deeply. I admire Alice’s kindness, honesty, and self-respect. I’m most grateful for the narration you provided on behalf of Alice! I would love to adapt Alice Alone into a film, and thought I should tell you my desire before attempting.