Constance May Waddell
Anenchanting book for Tweenagers to Keenagers set in the early 1940’s. Conneediscovers that staying in the home of wealthy cottage owners is both excitingand lonely. Sally, who becomes her best friend, lures her into mischief andadventure in the elegant summer resort - Bella Vista - managed by Connee’sparents. Sally’s big brother, Joe, challenges them to outsmart his tormentingantics. Connee learns that false pride can thwart her happiness and that Sally,though carefree, has a painful secret.Theaction takes place in the mountains of North Arkansas during a period ofhistory when there was no air conditioning. All over the nation, those whocould afford it escaped the sweltering heat of their city homes and spent wholesummers in the cool of resorts. Lazy days were spent fishing, playing cards, orjust sitting on screened porches to enjoy the cool breezes. They rode horses atdawn, swam in pools or lakes, and at night foxtrotted or jitterbugged to themusic of Big Bands.AuthorConstance May Waddell (Connee) discovered her childhood diaries, musty withage. Tears fell on the moldy pages as she re-read them. She decided that now was the time to keep the promise she’d made to Roseanne Matofsky (Sally) asRoseanne lay dying at the age of forty-one. Constance would write the storiesof their delightful teen escapades so that Roseanne’s children andgrandchildren could hear them just as Constance had told them to her own. Thisis a book of real happenings, captured through the eyes and reality of a younggirl in a different time and a different place. Waddell hopes those who readwill experience an era when children could safely catch rides with strangersand when it was not unusual for whole families to work together in a business.'May they also identify with the universal feelings of being sad and happy atthe same time, or growing beyond one’s childhood confusion to the beginnings ofassurance.WendelNorton created 25 enchanting works of art to enhance Sally and Me. He captured not only the personalities of thecharacters, but the magical impression of a summer resort with its hotelstanding like a beacon on the hill, its cool pavilion and popular undergroundnightclub, and a swimming pool with a unique spinning top. Whimsical lakes,creeks, trees, and horses provoke imaginative responses from the reader. 3
