Elbow Kissing

No Flying in the House by Betty Brock was one of my favorite books growing up. Maybe it was because the first time I heard the story was from my sister, who was learning to read books and enjoyed practicing by reading aloud to me before dinner each night. Maybe it was because, like Harry Potter, Anabel Tippens discovers she's not exactly who she thought she was. Maybe it was because I learned that you're a fairy if you can kiss your elbow. Whatever the case, the title - and the cover art shown here which was the very cover on the copy at the W-ville library - stayed with me.

I used to hope that I was a fairy. That I would miraculously be able to bend my arm in such a way that it would be feasible to get my mouth on my elbow. At the very least, I thought I deserved a tiny dog named Gloria who could talk and do 367 tricks. None of that's come to fruition as of yet, but I still hope that one day, I'll wake and be able to take a turn around the house - at zero gravity.