When you have kids, things get lost. My daughter's school is teaching the kids to read through a plush toy called Rocket which got lost while it was in our care. So, we did what we could to replace it. First, there was shopping online, Rocket is popular, but everyone is out of stock. Then there was trying to look on eBay and other second-hand options. There are very very few plush toy Rockets available. Those that are available seem to know its a rare item and want to charge up to $80 for a well looked after Rocket.
My wife decided to try the publisher, what better way to find out who might have then to ask the source. it turned out she was actually emailing the Author, Tad Hills. His response surprised us, we actually got an email back, directly from him. He was immediately helpful and suggested that the manufacturer had a single Rocket left for us and that they would give it to us as a gift! Then they shipped it to us at their cost all the way from California, that is 3500kms away from us. (The thing that made me chuckle was that it took almost two weeks to get here, the joys of the classic postal system. If you buy something online from a US retailer the courier will get it to you within a week. It was great because we appreciated the sense of how far it had to travel.)
No-one could believe how generous the writer, Tad Hills, was, I've never known a writer to actually respond let alone help with one of the plush toys. If for some reason Tad Hills reads this, thank you. It was unexpected, that is always the nicest. You don't expect to be given something by a total stranger, I can't remember it happening before.
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