TV Quote:
"I'm not asking you to dye your hair red and call me Mulder, I would simply ask that you consider the possibility that Marie had knowledge of, or had contact with something up there."
Richard Castle (to Kate Beckett on the show Castle)
Middle Grade Fiction Books:
The Carnival of Lost Souls: A Handcuff Kid Novel, by Laura Quimby (****) [2010] After years of searching, foster child Jack Carr and his social worker Mildred think they may have finally found him a home. An elderly professor specifically asked for a child who likes magic tricks. Handcuff-collecting, Houdini-loving Jack fits that description perfectly.
Jack's new home with the professor and his doting housekeeper, Concheta, is a dream come true until the Professor dares Jack not to peek into an old carnival chest in his office. Of course, Jack has to peek. It's too late that he realizes he's been tricked into taking on the professor's debt, a deal the professor made long ago when he was just a boy.
Now Jack's soul belongs to the great Mussini. As Jack is pulled into the land of the dead, the professor urges Jack to use his love of Houdini to help him get free. Jack's skill of escaping from handcuffs helps him in his new role, entertaining the dead in one of the acts of Mussini's traveling carnival. Could Jack's skills also help him escape and return to the land of the living? That's the trick Jack needs to figure out.
The Carnival of Lost Souls is an entertaining tale. Quimby creates an intriguing land of the dead where life seems much like the days when there were traveling carnivals with seedy edges, a group of lovable kids, and creepy surprises along the way.
Full Disclosure: Laura is another member of one of my writer's groups. Her book is a delight and one of those action-filled tales that are hard for older elementary-schoolers to find. [Middle grade fantasy for ages 10 and up.]
Web Links:
Avid Writing Kids- If you have a child who writes a mountain of stories or poems, you're probably wondering how to help them grow as a writer. Rosanne Parry at
From the Mixed-Up Files offers three sound ways to encourage your budding author. Her advice:
1. Help them save and safely store their work.
2. Help them find a time and place for writing.
3. Help them find a writing community.
Check out the details
here.