Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Title: Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry Author: Rosalie K. Fry Publication Info: Kindle edition, NYR Children's Collection. Original hardback, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1957, 87 pages, as Child of the Western Isles. Source: Library digital editions Publisher's Blurb: Fiona McConville is a child of the Western Isles, living on the Scottish mainland. City life doesn’t suit Fiona and at age ten she is sent back to her beloved isles to live with her grandparents. There she learns more about her mother’s strange ways with the seals and seabirds; hears stories of the selkies, mythological creatures that are half seal and half human; and wonders about her baby brother, Jamie, who disappeared long ago but whom fishermen claim to have seen. Fiona is determined to find Jamie and enlists her cousin Rory to help. When her grandparents are suddenly threatened with eviction, Fiona and Rory go into action. Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry is a magical story of the power of place and family hi...

Title: Brighty of the Grand Canyon Author: Marguerite Henry Publication Info: Rand, McNally & Co., 1953. 224 pages. Source: My bookshelves--I've owned this since childhood Publisher's Blurb: Long ago, a lone little burro roamed the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon and touched the hearts of all who knew him: a grizzled old miner, a big-game hunter, even President Teddy Roosevelt. Named Brighty by the prospector who befriended him, he remained a free spirit at heart. But when a ruthless claim-jumper murdered the prospector, loyal Brighty risked everything to bring the killer to justice. Brighty's adventures have delighted generations of readers, and he has become the symbol of a joyous way of life. Some people say that you can even see his spirit roving the canyon on moonlit nights-forever wild, forever free. My Review: I read all of Marguerite Henry's books as a child, and loved them. This one always was a bit hard for me, because there's some scary stuf...

  Title: Up a Road Slowly Author: Irene Hunt Publication Info: (I read the Kindle edition). Originally published 1966, Follett Publishing Co., 192 pages Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: From the author of Across Five Aprils and No Promises in the Wind comes her most beloved story of a girl's coming of age. After her mother's death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen. (Newbery Medal, 1967) My Review: There are a lot of children's books from the 1960s that still appeal. I don't think this one aged so well. The story has two problems, from a modern perspective: there isn't a lot of plot, and it feels like it does a lot more telling than showing. I had the whole time I was reading a feeling that I was waiting for the story to start. There's nothing terribly wrong with the book, and the characters engaged me enough to want to ...

  Title: Seacrow Island Author: Astrid Lindgren Publication Info: Kindle Edition NYR Children's Collection, 2015. First English edition, Viking Books for Young Readers, 1969 (original Swedish publication 1964). 287 pages. Source: Library digital services Goodreads Blurb: Tiny Seacrow Island is one of hundreds of islands in the sparkling blue of the Baltic Sea. Though small, it has everything you’d want in an island: woods to wander in, flowers to pick, fish to catch, boats to sail in, all kinds of animals. But it doesn’t have very many young people. So when the four Melkerson kids and their father move into Carpenter’s Cottage one June day, they’re immediately welcomed by the resourceful islanders: Johan and Niklas Melkerson, at twelve and thirteen, are natural companions for adventurous Freddy and Teddy (girls exactly their age); dreamy Pelle, the baby of the family, gets up to trouble with bossy Tjorven and fanciful Stina; and ever-responsible Malin, who at nineteen loo...

  Title: Harriet the Spy Author: Louise Fitzhugh; read by Anne Bobby Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio, 2003. Originally published by Harper & Row, 1964. 298 pages. Source: Library Digital resources Awards: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1966) , Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (1967) Publisher's Summary: Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together? 
 My Review:   Somehow I was never tempted to read this as a kid. Since lately I've been going back and picking up some classics I missed, when I saw this available as an audio book download through my library, I d...

    Title: Anne of the Island Author: L.M. Montgomery. Read by Susan O'Malley Publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2001; original published 1915. Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Summary: New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and frivolous new pal Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises...including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. But tears turn to laughter when Anne and her friends move into an old cottage and an ornery black cat steals her heart. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide if she's ready for love...   [Goodreads summary] My Review:...