A fascinating series in our Children's Department is the 'You Wouldn't Want To' series from Scholastic.  Written by a variety of authors, each one explores a part of history from the viewpoint of how it would have been to have had to live in those times.  We currently have twenty-seven books from this line in our collection ranging from ancient history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Slave in Ancient Greece! A Life You'd Rather Not Have') to early American history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Pony Express Rider! A Dusty, Thankless Job You'd Rather Not Do') to more modern times ('You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic! One Voyage You'd Rather Not Make').

All of the books contain a timeline, handy hints for the era in question and a glossary.  The details they pull out of the daily lives of the everyday people that were a part of history brings the past to life in a way that is as interesting to adults as well as children.

The Seventh Witch

The Seventh Witch is the latest book in the Ophelia and Abby Jensen series by Shirley Damsgaard. Ophelia is a small-town librarian in Iowa who has inherited her supernatural talents from a long line of her ancestors. Her grandmother, Abby is talented also, and together they make a great team. The setting of this book is a change from the usual--Ophelia, Abby and Ophelia's adopted daughter Tink travel to the hills of North Carolina for Great-Aunt Mary's 100th birthday. In this small southern town, Ophelia's family is known for its magical abilities, but a vengeful local witch wants revenge for events from the past. Ophelia must use her talents to save her loved ones, before revenge takes them over and bad blood turns deadly! I love the family relationships in this series, as well as Ophelia's reluctant acceptance of her witch heritage. I recommend reading this series in order, as the relationships develop throughout the books.

Take a Sip from a Strange Brew

Strange Brew is a collection of tales of powerful witches and dark magic, from nine contemporary urban fantasy authors: Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Karen Chance, P. N. Elrod, Charlaine Harris, Faith Hunter, Catilin Kittredge and Jenna Maclaine. If you like tales of revenge and magic, witches, vampires, werewolves and wizards, then this collection of stories is the perfect book for you. Edited by P. N. Elrod, each story is approximately 40 pages long and can be read quickly. If you do not currently read some of the above authors, this book is the perfect way to explore a "taste" of their writing, and perhaps be encouraged to read other stories they have written. Sit a spell, open this book and lose yourself in a different reality!

"Witchy" and Mysterious

One of my favorite mystery series is the "Ophelia and Abby" series written by Shirley Damsgaard. To me, this series has a lot of positive elements in it, such as the fact that the main character, Ophelia Jensen, is the Librarian in the small town of Summerset, Iowa. But....she is also a witch, and is descended from a long line of witches! Ophelia's grandmother, Abby, is a witch too (and a fabulous gardener) who learned her skills from her family as she was growing up in the hills of Appalachia. Ophelia is a reluctant user of her powers, and her relunctance contributes to her charm. She is also an animal lover (she has dogs and a cat) and a new mom--but you should read the series to find out the rest of those details. Ophelia tries very hard to live a nice, normal, quiet life in Summerset, but somehow she always ends up embroiled in messes. This is especially irritating to Sheriff Bill Wilson, who always seems to be the one trying to clean up the messes. In Damsgaard's latest book in this series, The Witch's Grave, Ophelia is attending a library fundraiser at a winery, where she meets handsome, charming, mystery author (did I mention Ophelia loves reading mysteries) Stephen Larsen. She is enjoying Larsen's company and flattery when suddenly, a shot rings out from the trees surrounding the grape vines and Ophelia is shocked to see that Larsen has been hit! Who shot Larsen? Why was he shot? Was Ophelia the intended target? Ophelia, with the help of Abby, her friends, and plenty of strangers, must solve the mystery before it's too late! This is a great mystery with some nice supernatural elements and great characters. Try reading this series and I bet you will be as "charmed" as I am by Ophelia Jensen.