Frighteningly Good Read #18

Happy Halloween!!! October is coming to a close with the celebration that is near and dear to my heart – eating all the good candy out of the mix bags before the Trick or Treaters arrive. But, before I send my body into sugar shock I wanted to do one last FGR post.

When I was a kid my Dad would tell me Edgar Allen Poe’s tales. Sometimes he just explained the premise or he and my Mom would take turns retelling The Telltale Heart, The Premature Burial, The Pit and the Pendulum and quoting that stinkin’ Raven. Either way, through the years Poe’s tales have become woven into my subconscious like a family member you hear about but never meet.

When I finally took the time to read them I enjoyed them immensely but probably because I already had the skeleton of each story in my mind. They are not easy to read. And, while recounting the tales certainly made it is easier for me, not everyone has parents as stellar as mine.

However, there is a children’s series called The Misadventures of Edgar and Allan Poe by Gordon McAlpine and Sam Zuppardi. Edgar and Allan are identical twin geniuses and the great-great-great-great nephews of Poe himself. More importantly, the book weaves some Poe’s most important works into the story as well as Poe himself working in the afterlife as a fortune cookie fortune writer.

These books are cute and light children’s reading. But, like most things we give to children, these books serve two purposes. At the surface, they tell a lovely story about Edgar and Allan and their (mis)adventures through middle school. Underneath they are planting a seed in children’s minds everywhere. One day, they will go looking for Poe’s work and it won’t seem as unapproachable.

So, today, the last day of October for 2017 I thank my parents for making Poe’s work not just approachable but also enjoyable. I am happy and grateful to all of you who stopped by during this busy month of Frighteningly Good Reads and as to future plans for daily blogging I quote the Raven, “Nevermore!”