book club
“Read Island”
A Picture Book for All Ages By Sandy Ferguson Fuller
READ ISLAND is available at The Bookworm of Edwards or wherever books are sold. Hardcover $18.99.
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MY READ ISLAND 1. Title. Got it. Perfect. 2. Theme and plot: Somewhere out there lies an island made of books. A little girl sets sails with her crew of two — fox and mouse — to find it. 3. They discover it, along with a menagerie of native wild animal friends who share an enjoyment of reading and storytelling. Together they reveal the most important secret on Read Island: “This world of stories, safe and true, is always here to welcome you.”
c o v e r e d b r i d g e va i l . c o m
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NICOLE MAGISTRO
D
o you have a magical place in your life? A real destination that you try to visit often? It speaks to you, and that’s why you always return. For debut local author, Nicole Magistro, Read Island is her favorite spot in the world. It’s a wild and rural landscape located in the Discovery Islands region of the South Coast of British Columbia. Magistro’s family keeps a cabin there, accessible only by a small plane hop or boat crossing from Vancouver Island. The ocean straits and lush forests are home to bald eagles, sea lions, wolves, seals, migrating salmon, cougars, whales and rare, elusive spirit bears. No wonder she returns every summer to share new adventures and traditions with her son, Silas, and husband, Zach. When Magistro sold The Bookworm of Edwards in 2020, she took a relaxing break from her hectic life as former pro-
prietor (15 years) of Vail Valley’s popular independent bookstore and delicious café. Everyone wondered, “What will come next for this talented, motivated, smart and successful young woman who always dreamed privately of publishing her own books?” As a journalism undergrad and graduate student at Northwestern University, she had cultivated a strong foundation for her writing skills, but her professional focus hadn’t yet granted her the time and space to create, except to write prolific reviews for other authors. Breathe in, breathe out, Magistro … and rise up Read Island. A children’s picture book takes shape in her imagination. At first, only a potpourri of personal passions and images, then a storyline celebrating reading, literacy, nature, children, community and a real, magical habitat. Most authors will agree that their best work often “writes itself,” straight from the heart. Once Magistro determines her new direction, then in her inimitable style, she composes her list to make it happen:
