Going Retro!

1963

A funny thing happened to me the other day. I was trying desperately to remember the name of a book of my childhood and could only picture the image. No title, no author, nothing. I tried an online search without success and determined I'd just have to live with the fact that I'd never see my beloved book again. A few weeks after this conclusion I found myself face to face with it in a neighborhood library. The book is called "The Quarreling Book" by Charlotte Zolotow. I was beyond elated! All I could remember of the story was that it involved a family that was angry with one another, yet found happiness in the end, which brings me to the purpose of this post. Going retro at times is great for your children. From this story they learn it's okay to be angry at times, but never to take that anger out on others and this book will drive that point home in a subtle, yet entertaining way!

Journey To The Past

 2012

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. Yearning for things from the past, wanting to step back in time when life seemed simpler. A time without modern technology and today's distractions that so ruin a good ghost story. So what did I do? I bought my 15 yr old sister a new book that promised to take the reader back to that place and time I so desperately wanted to lose myself in and I read it before my sister even knew it was missing from her book shelf! That book was "The Poisoned House" by Michael Ford. It tells the story of 15 yr old Abi, an orphaned servant girl living in 1850's London. Aside from carrying out her scullery maid duties, she's being haunted and this tale is terrifyingly spooky. There's no "ghost in the machine", but rather a presence felt lurking behind the stairs in the dark of a large mansion with nothing but the candle for light. This book is ideal for teens who love scary stories as well as historical fiction and is a true treat for anyone seeking to escape and take a journey to the past...