Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Witches, Vampires, and Dryads, Oh My!

Super Freak by Vanessa Barger
Tantrum Books

Critiqued by Gayle C. Krause

Caroline Bennings is no ordinary girl, well. . . she is, but in her magical family, in her magical town, that’s not always a good thing. With dryads for parents and vampires for best friends, being ordinary is a problem, especially when you are the only one in the whole town who doesn’t possess any magic or supernatural power.

But lucky for the town, Caroline is ordinary, because with her lack of a magical sense and fondness of solving puzzles, she is able to figure out an age-old mystery that has plagued her town for two centuries—the disappearance of her long-lost ancestor.

Fast paced, and easy to follow, middle school readers will enjoy the unusual story once they get past the cliché beginning of a middle grade child being forced to move into a dilapidated old mansion with her parents. With the contemporary setting, and common school cafeteria and classroom scenes, the reader is not even aware that supernatural beings populate the town. However Ms. Barger’s writing allows the reader’s imagination to soar, and once the story gets going, it’s a non-stop read even a reluctant reader will enjoy.


Clues, treasure hunts, and secret rendezvous by Caroline and her best friends lead to more mayhem than magic. Witches, shape-shifters, dryads, and vampires fill the pages, but thirteen-year-old Caroline Bennings, a super freak by supernatural standards, saves the day.

Friday, September 25, 2015

The "Witching Time" is fast approaching and with it a new interview with a little witch named Delia.

On October 1st, The Storyteller's Scroll will be interviewing Delia Witch and her creator Rebecca Colby.

And on October 8th we will continue the Storyteller's Scroll tradition of featuring the Annual Halloween Poetry Contest.  (Poems must be suitable for children).

It will run from October 8th to the 15th and the themes will be……….Witches, of course! You may write your own variation of Delia's Witch Parade or an original witch poem for children. And what do you win?

Well, you won't be locked in a cage to be fattened up for Halloween dinner…

And you won't be winning any poison apples…

But you will get a chance to win a signed copy of Rebecca Colby's, It's Raining Bats and Frogs.


So put your witch hats on, grab your brooms, and get ready for a witchy treat! 

First, Delia and Rebecca, and then your "Witchy" poems for Halloween.


Here is an example of mine.


Do You See a Witch?
By Gayle C. Krause

Be she a witch of beauty?
…or does she wear the face of hags?

Does she dress in sparkly gowns?
…or black and tattered rags?

Does she hold her magic
in a fancy-feathered frond?

…or does she use a gnarled stick
for her magic wand?

Is she the wicked type?
…or does she hail from good?

Keep your eyes open, child!
She's in your neighborhood!


@Gayle C. Krause 2015

Monday, September 7, 2015

WINNER! WINNER! DRAGON'S DINNER!

Oops! I mean winner of Penny Klosterman's 



There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight is:



Julie Rowan-Zoch

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in Penny's "Two Truths and a Lie." 

Keep your eye on The Storyteller's Scroll for some Halloween fun coming soon.