Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 8, 1995 TAG: 9511080054
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS HENSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I got a letter from one boy,'' she says. ``It's one of my favorites. It said, `Dear Miss Patterson, the teacher said we had to write a book report. I chose your book because it was the shortest one on the shelf. The teacher said we had to write the author and tell them what we thought of the book. I think it's good that you write short books.'''
Published in 1989, her book, ``The Christmas Cup,'' has given Patterson the chance to reconnect with a lot of people in her life.
``I remember the first time we did a book signing,'' she says. ``It never occurred to me that there would be a crowd, it really didn't.''
There was a crowd of friends of every age, and the book has been a Yuletide success ever since. It's now in its fourth printing.
Over the last six years, Patterson's former students and old friends have called to say the book brought back fond memories. It's that kind of story.
It's about Little M, a girl with an eye patch and a rusty tin cup she bought for $5. Her grandmother helps her turn the cup into a vessel of good will. In the process, Little M learns to look at the good inside every person, even a mean old school principal.
Nancy Ruth Patterson is a teacher and the principal at Roanoke's CITY School, where she has touched the lives of thousands of kids in the Roanoke area. She admits that she based Little M loosely on herself. The two share an obvious shyness and unassuming warmth.
Early this year, Mill Mountain Theatre's literary manager, Jo Weinstein, brought the book to director Jere Hodgin's attention, and last spring they proposed a staging of ``The Christmas Cup'' in Theatre B. When Patterson met with Hodgin, she became completely confident that something wonderful was happening.
``I went into this knowing his reputation in the community and in the theater, so I never looked back,'' she says. ``I trust him implicitly to do far greater things for that book than I could ever do alone.''
Being a theater enthusiast has made watching the whole process a treat for Patterson.
``I'd never been behind the scenes before,'' she says. ``Everything is an education. I've seen the auditions, I've read different versions of the script. It's fascinating.''
She is familiar with the horror stories of writers who hate what their collaborators have done with their work. But she's not horrified.
``Thirty years ago, when I first began teaching,'' she recalls, ``a mother told me something. She said that one of the great lessons in life is that, no matter how well-meaning you are, there are people who can do far greater things for your child than you can do yourself. It impressed on me the incredible responsibility that you have when you are trusted by every parent and every child.
``And I feel like that has happened with `The Christmas Cup.'''
She appreciates the care that Hodgin has put into bringing her work to life.
``He treats the children in the play with such dignity,'' she says. ``I see him working miracles with his positive attitude. He is just as fresh after hours of rehearsal as he is at the beginning...just as patient.''
While ``The Christmas Cup'' may be the shortest book on the shelf, it's uncomplicated and positive and engaging. A lot like the author, who gets all those letters.
Nancy Patterson has a note stuck on her refrigerator from a young girl who wrote her shortly after a famous writer had died. It says this:
``Roses are red,
``Violets are blue,
``Dr. Seuss writes good books,
``And, so do you.''
Patterson smiles and says, ``Kind of balances out the other letter, doesn't it?''
by CNB