Continuing the Story
November 30, 2009

If the queries I receive are an indication, many writers see whatever story they've created as just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. "You think the story ends here?" they'll say. "Just you wait, mister! Just because Timmy and Jimmy rescued Wiggles the dog doesn't mean their adventure has ended!"I've blogged about unlikely sequels before and don't want to rehash too much of what I've already said, but I got to thinking recently about some children's books that had unexpected, and pretty damn good, follow-ups. Some examples include Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw and the subsequent Strider qualify, Richard Peck's trilogy of tales involving Grandma Dowdel, and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, the lesser known follow-up to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.So I'm wondering, gentle readers, what titles you wished had produced sequels that never made it into print. Did you want to see what other sorts of violence could be committed to animals after finishing To Kill a Mockingbird? Perhaps wonder what sorts of colored plants sprout up in other locations at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows? If you could continue any classic book for children, which would it be?