be open-minded, flexible, and creative

I was listening to Science Friday on NPR... and I learned about "One Minute Mysteries" by Eric and Natalie Yoder.

The books look fun and engaging. 

While searching One Minute Mysteries, I stumbled upon this cool website: OneMinuteMysteries.com  Check out the Case Files to view sample puzzles.

My favorite quote:

"When solving these puzzles, throw out all your assumptions about what is going on, and of course, be open-minded, flexible, and creative."

The Dark

Lemony Snicket's 2013 picture book, 

The Dark, illustrated by Jon Klassen.

"Lasszlo is afraid of the dark.The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn't come into Laszlo's room. But one night, it does.This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark."

so many books...

... so little time.

the hero with a thousand faces

"The cave you fear to enter 

holds the treasure you seek."

- Joseph Campbell

I just ordered...

... which begs the question, "What is normal?"

You can read the first two chapters free on amazon.

Gloom Mansion... cue sinister music

Have you ever thought that your shadow might have a life of its own? I hadn't until I read Gustav Gloom and The People Taker by Adam-Troy Castro

Fernie What (yes, like the question) finds herself lost in the Gloom Mansion after her cat has been chased there by its own shadow. There she meets Gustav Gloom, a not quite boy, who the neighbors call "the unhappiest little boy in the world".

The Gloom house is unpredictable. There's a library full of books that have never been written. There is shadow food, and shadow furniture. Everything is dark and never ending and full of twisty-turny corridors.

And, of course, there is a villainous villain called The People Taker. He, frighteningly, works for someone even more evil.

This book has the makings of a super-creepy series.

and glimmering incarnations

When we were at the Schoenbrunn Palace in Austria we saw a marionette performance. We saw Mozart's "The Magic Flute" which was maria Theresia's favorite. It was beautiful and enchanting...

...but the marionettes are kind of creepy... in that 'doll-that-might-murder-you-in-your-sleep' kind of way.

So imagine my excitement when I read about the book, Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz:

The master puppeteer, Gaspare Grisini, is so expert at manipulating his stringed puppets that they appear alive. Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, is spellbound by Grisini’s act and invites him to entertain at her birthday party. Seeing his chance to make a fortune, Grisini accepts and makes a splendidly gaudy entrance with caravan, puppets, and his two orphaned assistants. 
Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are dazzled by the Wintermute home. Clara seems to have everything they lack — adoring parents, warmth, and plenty to eat. In fact, Clara’s life is shadowed by grief, guilt, and secrets. When Clara vanishes that night, suspicion of kidnapping falls upon the puppeteer and, by association, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall. 
As they seek to puzzle out Clara’s whereabouts, Lizzie and Parse uncover Grisini’s criminal past and wake up to his evil intentions. Fleeing London, they find themselves caught in a trap set by Grisini’s ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it’s too late. 
Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz’s Victorian gothic is a rich banquet of dark comedy, scorching magic, and the brilliant and bewitching storytelling that is her trademark

Three children in a foggy Dickens-like London, a magical puppeteer, and a dying witch set the stage for a beautifully written, horrifying and heart-warming story.

If you have a fondness for magic, morbid creepiness, and captivating writing... Splendors and Glooms is the book for you.

*spoiler alert...
Let me know if page 118 caught you as off guard as it caught me.