Her name was Mrs. Manderson. Tall, slim, and brunette, Mrs. Manderson was an elementary school teacher. But not just any elementary school teacher. Nope. Mrs. Manderson had a rare knack for opening windows into worlds unknown via books.

She was probably the best teacher I ever had. She was certainly the most memorable. Especially when I was in “Mrs. M.’s” fourth grade class.

Every day after lunch recess, Mrs. Manderson had us fourth graders sit quietly at our desks as she perched on a stool at the front of the class, opened a book, and read aloud. It was my favorite part of the whole school day.

Okay, okay. So this was many years ago. As in, shortly after the discovery of fire. But I still remember some of the books Mrs. Manderson introduced to the class as she read aloud every afternoon: Stuart Little. Charlotte’s Web. Black Beauty. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds.

Most of these titles still rank high on my list of All Time Faves. I’m just funny that way.

There was also a book called The Egypt Game. By Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I didn’t know it at the time, but The Egypt Game was a Newbery Honor Book. So there ya go.

I’m telling you this cuz, guess what? I found The Egypt Game on a library shelf the other day, all lonely and forlorn. Memories of Mrs. M’s fourth grade class at Northwest Elementary School hit my brain like a tsunami.

I grabbed The Egypt Game off the shelf and checked it out. Raced home. And opened the book.

You know that feeling you get when you open a well-loved book from yesteryear? How it feels like you’re re-united with a long lost friend?

Well… Opening The Egypt Game for the first time since the 1960s, I was suddenly transported back in time to Mrs. M’s fourth grade class. Joy and delight battled for supremacy as I tuned pages. Dusty memories bubbled up from cobwebbed corners of the ‘ole cerebral hard drive. (Well, okay. The ‘ole cerebral hard drive is cobwebbed most of the time. But let’s not get picky here, okay?)

The basic plot was kind of vague and a wee bit hazy. Hey! It’s been over fifty years, so gimme a break, okay? Anyway, I still remembered the ending accurately. Without cheating or reading ahead, thanks very much.

Between chapter one and the final page, The Egypt Game was as enjoyable and engaging as it was the first time I heard it from Mrs. Manderson’s lips those many years ago. And that’s what a good book does, right? It climbs inside your head and heart and holds on for life. Transports you on the wings of imagination to another time and place. Reminds you. Challenges, inspires, educates, motivates or illuminates.

It’s why I’m a lifelong bibliophile. It’s also why I’ll never forget those sun-soaked afternoons of long ago listening to a fourth grade teacher who knew who to open a book and let the magic out.

Thank you, Mrs. Manderson. For EVERYTHING!