Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

   (Once Upon a Dance 2022). ISBN: 978-1-955555-53-1 As a longtime creative dramatist and youth theatre specialist, I am always on the lookout for books like Frankie’s Wish , which has everything I could ask for—a celebration of imagination, interesting places to explore, adventures to physicalize, and new friends to meet—and best of all, it has the added element of a ballerina called Konora. Konora is featured at the bottom half of every right-hand page (the left-hand pages being devoted to illustrations), offering suggestions for how to physically interact with the story, whether it be a dance move, stretch, or transformation into a dinosaur or gorilla. Frankie’s Wish is the brainchild of Once Upon a Dance. It is described on the copyright page as a “Dance-it-Out Creative Movement Story.” The illustrations are by Emilia Rumińska, and the story is based on one by Eva Stone. This particular book—the latest of 19 in the series—is perfect not only for creative dramatists, bu...

  “Secrets in the Sky”: A Review of Imagine That: The Magic of the Mysterious Lights by George Yuhasz. Illustrated by Egle Bartolini (Outskirts Press, 2019). ISBN: 978-1-9772-0267-3 Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world .—Albert Einstein Human beings have always been Starwatchers. Skygazers. From stone calendars like Stonehenge to elaborate cosmologies and creation mythologies involving the Moon and Sun to the personification of the constellations as humans and animals, humankind has been fascinated with the Sky from the very start of our journey here on Earth. Pictographs in ancient caves are the first Sky Stories. The procession of the constellations marked the cycles of both agriculture and religion, giving birth to countless rituals and traditions. There is also a fascination with the Sky at work in the lives of Dreamers and Visionaries. A child who is labeled one or the other is also referred to as a Skylarke...

   (HRPR Blackberry Publishing, 2021). ASIN: B09FKTCVZP When I was a boy, I was lucky enough to have a giant finished basement in which to play. My grandfather, a talented wood-worker, made my brother and me a big toy box (you had to be careful, because if you didn’t lock the hinges, the heavy lid came down on your head while you were digging to the bottom for some action figure you needed RIGHT NOW). After a long day of active imagination and deep-immersion play (which I never outgrew: I am a writer, actor, and content creator), it was then time to clean up. Uh-oh! What a mess! Hundreds of toys spread throughout the room and my Dad on his way home from another long, frustrating day at work. Suddenly, it was a shift from the free-reign of imagination to the discipline of having to follow the rules in a hurry. My solution? I would take two of my father’s barstools (the cool kind, with circular seats that swiveled) and drag them over to the toy box. Instant garbage truck! ...

   (Australia: Odyssey Books, 2020). ISBN: 978-1925652918 Let’s face it: we are all in need of some new and different heroes. With the recent success of Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes—sister of Sherlock and Mycroft—on Netflix, it could be that the next big thing in inspiring role models is a young girl armed with a keen imagination, broad knowledge, an adventurous spirit, and a flair for story (think Greta Thunberg). All of these boxes are checked by Ann Harth’s delightful character, Bernice Rose Peppercorn, as they were “back in the day” by Charles Schulz’s Lucy, Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, and Judy Blume’s Sheila the Great. Bernice, a journaler and fledgling writer, is also a fan of a big-time celebrity who lives near her, Crystal Bell, who makes action adventures with a hint of mystery, with titles like Murder in Mumbai . The inciting incident is when Miss Bell’s house is robbed. Bernice is armed with her notebook, in which she makes entries—with her...