Letters about "Egg and I" author Betty MacDonald pour in

We received many letters this week about Michael Upchurch's recent story on Northwest writer Betty MacDonald ("Much Still to Say," March 12). The author of "The Egg and I" died 50 years ago, but her work endures.

Czechs love MacDonald

It probably sounds kind of odd, but Betty MacDonald is still extremely popular in the Czech Republic. Her books have been reprinted many times, and I don't think I would find a single friend back at home who has not read at least "The Egg and I" when we were teenagers.

I majored in English in 1994 (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic) and I remember that whenever a new teacher arrived from the U.K., or the U.S., and asked the students about their favorite writers, there would be at least a couple of them who'd mention Betty MacDonald. As far as I recall, none of our teachers had a clue who she was, and all seemed very surprised to find her so widely popular.

When I moved to the U.S. a few years back, I brought only a few of my old beloved books in Czech with me, and the Czech translation of "The Egg and I" is indeed among them. And yes, some aspects of her books are dated, but I think that her sense of humor is timeless.

— Radka Knyphausen, Lake Forest Park

And Iowans do, too

It was disappointing that the author of the article about Betty MacDonald did not mention "Nancy and Plum," one of her very best children's books, bar none. When I was in fifth grade, a teacher in Iowa read it to our class out loud and it became an instant favorite. I have read it to my children and have passed along copies to all my nieces and other lovers of children's stories.

— Martha Ebbers, Seattle

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