Gotta Love that Ellen Raskin

From editor Ann Durrell's introduction to The Westing Game:

"She loved the chutzpah of New Yorkers because she had it, too. When she was asked to read aloud and excerpt from The Westing Game on a program at the New York Public Library, she chose Chapter 14, including the part where Theo sings the third verse of "America the Beautiful" to Angela.She rehearsed by singing it out loud on the subway, figuring that if she could sing it there, she could certainly sing it before a friendly audience of librarians. She could and did."