My family is a camping family, and most school holidays we travelled great distances to beaches, snowfields and, occasionally, the desert. I eagerly awaited these holidays not for the destination (how much enthusiasm could I honestly rally for cross-country skiing?) but for my reading material: my mother is a librarian, and it was always a treat when she brought home a crate of books at the end of term (this was, after all, in the days before iPods and Nintendo DSi). And while most girls my age were reading The Baby-sitters Club, Nancy Drew and, if they were a little racy, Judy Blume, I got my early literary kicks out of Tintin.