him I will be, for sure.
This morning Iâm in the computer room at school. I get restless and stare out the window. Itâs April and the summer birds are returning. Yesterday I saw my first swallow. The buds on the trees are showing green and the rain this morning on the way to school was warm. In Flynnâs stream the fish will be jumping for the spring bugs. On the farms theyâll be plowing the potato beds.
Sister taps me on the shoulder. âYouâre daydreaming again, Megan,â she says. âWhat are you thinking of?â
I tell her Iâm dreaming of summer and being on the road.
She shows me how I can get pictures on the computer of places all over the world. âThatâs a kind of traveling, too, Megan,â she says.
Home from school I see Daddy working on the caravan. I climb inside the caravan. Thereâs our cooking pot and skillet. I think of all the campfires we sat around, watching the sun turn gold and slip behind the hills. I remember falling asleep in the caravan at night and then awakening first thing in the morning to see where we are. Is it someplace we want to be? Or a place weâve never been before? What will it be like?
I stick my head out the window and tell Daddy I canât wait until we take off. Daddy says even when weâre living in the
tigin
we are still Travelers in our hearts. Thatâs true, for though my two feet are in Dublin, my heart is already hurrying down a road toward summer.
AUTHORâS NOTE
There are approximately 25 thousand Travelers (spelled
Travellers
in England and Ireland) in Ireland. Forced off their meager farms by English landlords and by the potato famines, the Irish took to the roads. Some found itinerant (moving from place to place) life to their liking. They married other Travelers and over the years a culture of traveling developed.
As farm acreage turns into suburbs, Travelers are giving up their way of life and migrating to the cities. The Irish government has tried to provide accommodation for Travelers and the schools make a special effort to meet the needs of their children.
Like Meganâs father, my father liked the roads. On our vacations, even after a long dayâs drive, my father set off with us to explore our new surroundings. âLetâs mosey around,â he would say. My father instilled a wanderlust in me I share with Megan.
GLOSSARY
Buffers: outsiders (people with permanent homes)
Caravan: camper or trailer
Euro: the currency of Ireland and of the countries in the European Union
Gammon: a secret language used by Travelers, sometimes called
Shelta
Garda: the Irish police
Tigin (also tigeen): the Irish word for a small hut or house
Turf: dried-out peat sod used for fuel in fireplaces
GLORIA WHELAN
A poet and author of many award-winning childrenâs books, Gloria Whelan received the National Book Award for her young adult novel,
Homeless Bird
. Her other picture books in Sleeping Bear Pressâs Tales of the World series are
Waiting for the Owlâs Call, Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers
(2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner), and
Yatandou
(a Junior Library Guild selection). Ms. Whelan lives near Lake St. Clair in Michigan where you can often find her out walking.
BETH PECK
Beth Peck loved doing the research for
Meganâs Year
and learning the history of the Irish Travelers. She found it fascinating to view the beautiful, informative, photographic, journalistic documentation of the Irish Traveler community (and would love to visit Ireland where the story takes place). Ms. Peck has illustrated many books for children, including
Just Like Josh Gibson
(Angela Johnson) and
Music for the End of Time
(Jen Bryant), which is based on the true story of French composer Olivier Messiaen writing one of his most famous quartets in a WWII labor camp. Ms. Peck lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
This morning Iâm in the computer room at school. I get restless and stare out the window. Itâs April and the summer birds are returning. Yesterday I saw my first swallow. The buds on the trees are showing green and the rain this morning on the way to school was warm. In Flynnâs stream the fish will be jumping for the spring bugs. On the farms theyâll be plowing the potato beds.
Sister taps me on the shoulder. âYouâre daydreaming again, Megan,â she says. âWhat are you thinking of?â
I tell her Iâm dreaming of summer and being on the road.
She shows me how I can get pictures on the computer of places all over the world. âThatâs a kind of traveling, too, Megan,â she says.
Home from school I see Daddy working on the caravan. I climb inside the caravan. Thereâs our cooking pot and skillet. I think of all the campfires we sat around, watching the sun turn gold and slip behind the hills. I remember falling asleep in the caravan at night and then awakening first thing in the morning to see where we are. Is it someplace we want to be? Or a place weâve never been before? What will it be like?
I stick my head out the window and tell Daddy I canât wait until we take off. Daddy says even when weâre living in the
tigin
we are still Travelers in our hearts. Thatâs true, for though my two feet are in Dublin, my heart is already hurrying down a road toward summer.
AUTHORâS NOTE
There are approximately 25 thousand Travelers (spelled
Travellers
in England and Ireland) in Ireland. Forced off their meager farms by English landlords and by the potato famines, the Irish took to the roads. Some found itinerant (moving from place to place) life to their liking. They married other Travelers and over the years a culture of traveling developed.
As farm acreage turns into suburbs, Travelers are giving up their way of life and migrating to the cities. The Irish government has tried to provide accommodation for Travelers and the schools make a special effort to meet the needs of their children.
Like Meganâs father, my father liked the roads. On our vacations, even after a long dayâs drive, my father set off with us to explore our new surroundings. âLetâs mosey around,â he would say. My father instilled a wanderlust in me I share with Megan.
GLOSSARY
Buffers: outsiders (people with permanent homes)
Caravan: camper or trailer
Euro: the currency of Ireland and of the countries in the European Union
Gammon: a secret language used by Travelers, sometimes called
Shelta
Garda: the Irish police
Tigin (also tigeen): the Irish word for a small hut or house
Turf: dried-out peat sod used for fuel in fireplaces
GLORIA WHELAN
A poet and author of many award-winning childrenâs books, Gloria Whelan received the National Book Award for her young adult novel,
Homeless Bird
. Her other picture books in Sleeping Bear Pressâs Tales of the World series are
Waiting for the Owlâs Call, Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers
(2008 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner), and
Yatandou
(a Junior Library Guild selection). Ms. Whelan lives near Lake St. Clair in Michigan where you can often find her out walking.
BETH PECK
Beth Peck loved doing the research for
Meganâs Year
and learning the history of the Irish Travelers. She found it fascinating to view the beautiful, informative, photographic, journalistic documentation of the Irish Traveler community (and would love to visit Ireland where the story takes place). Ms. Peck has illustrated many books for children, including
Just Like Josh Gibson
(Angela Johnson) and
Music for the End of Time
(Jen Bryant), which is based on the true story of French composer Olivier Messiaen writing one of his most famous quartets in a WWII labor camp. Ms. Peck lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
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