Book Review : 1) In Grandma's Attic 2) More Stories from Grandma's Attic

Title : 1) In Grandma's Attic (ISBN : 978-0-7814-0379-5)

2) More Stories From Grandma's Attic (ISBN : 978-0-7814-0380-1)

Author : Arleta Richardson

Publisher : B & B Media Group

'True Stories of Yesteryear with Timeless Lessons for Today'. Grandma's Attic Series is a treasure of stories brought to us by Arleta Richardson in a new avatar. She recalls the stories that her grandmother shared with her from the childhood spent on a nineteenth-century farm, in the company of her parents, two brothers and one very dear friend - Sarah Jane. These short stories transport us to that time by bringing out the history, family life, unflinching faith in the supreme power, values and life lessons that have withstood the tests of times. This series can truly be categorized as 'fun-filled' and 'character-building' series.

The late Arleta Richardson, once discovered a chest of secrets hidden away in her grandma's attic and every single article inside that chest brought out the old memories and a delightful story for her. Every patch on a quilt, every single button in the button box, a simple slate, the hoop of a hoopskirt, a slate and many such things make the grandma reminisce about her childhood days and provide a lovely trip into the past in the form of an enchanting story. Grandma is such a wonderful story-teller that while narrating the story about the particular article, it seems as if Arleta is under a spell and so will be the readers while reading these age old stories.

Grandma Mabel shares everything with Arleta, her adventures, misadventures and stories of mischief. A wonderful way to reiterate the fact that innocence of childhood and the fun of growing up remain the same across all times.

Besides giving a sneak peak in the lifestyles of those times, these stories work wonderfully in teaching some indispensable life lessons and moral values which are applicable to everybody at all times - lessons on honesty, truthfulness, pride, vanity, deceit and many more. Arleta recalls all these stories and most of all the loving and magical touch of her grandmother which brought the past again to life in front of her eyes as if she is a part of those times herself.

The stories in the second book 'More Stories from Grandma's Attic' are equally fun to read as the ones in the first book, but they are more Christian-world centric and focus on teaching more. This time around, Arleta and her grandmother are actually staying at grandma's old farm house where Uncle Roy lives now. Every story evokes many emotions be it the one when pig wears doll's clothes or when Pa accidentally locks Mama in the cellar.

Readers will experience a myriad of human emotions through these endearing small capsules of fun and learning. These are basically Christian stories with a mention of verse from Bible or a little prayer here and there.