THE MAGIC DOOR
Francine Paino
Paperback
(Francine Paino, Dec. 11, 2019)
Mystical Creatures, Witches, and Talking Animals live in a Gold and Silver Forest. What adventures await beyond the magic door in grandma's closet? Grandma's house is always a place of fun, games, cooking, and imagining, but not today. An extraordinary storm is brewing outside—and a weird one is brewing inside, too. As the midday sky turns dark, the atmosphere becomes warlike. Mary and Lynda are fighting and throwing playing cards at each other. Tomas and Daniel fight over the trains on the floor. When Andrew tries to break them up, he gets a punch in the eye. Callista has her earphones permanently affixed in her ears and her nose firmly planted in one of her fantasy books. Only Baby JR is peaceful, sleeping in his carrier."Enough!" Grandma shouts over the din. She puts all of them in time out. Thunder booms. Rain hits like pellets, and tree branches whip and crack against the sides of the house. Lightning bolts flash in the windows across the back of grandma's house. W-A-A-N-K-! blares from the TV. It’s a tornado warning. Grandma orders the children to take the pillows and cushions from the couch, and she leads them into her ginormous closet. The older children are sullen and obstinate. The younger ones cry and don't want to stay, but Grandma comforts them, saying that her wardrobe is a very fun place. "What could be fun in a clothes closet?" Andrew asks. With twinkling eyes, Grandma answers, "You'll tell me when the storm is over." Then pointing at the chest of drawers, she says, "Don't open the top drawer. The things in there cannot be played with." Mary thumps her fists on her hips and demands, "What things?""Things that cannot be played with," Grandma answers. With that, she leaves the closet and closes the doors. The storm outside rumbles, louder and louder, but before the next crack of thunder echoes, Andrew hears the CLICK! Grandma has locked them in! Now what? he wonders. The children continue to argue. During a lull in the storm, Mary announces that she's bored. Always curious, she decides to open the forbidden drawer, despite the others telling her not to, and out flies the strangest creature they've ever seen. "Ne-e-e-bey," it’s shrill squawk makes the children cover their ears. The bird flies up, and sits on the clothing rod above grandma’s dresses, but Mary forgets to close the drawer. Before they can think about what to do, more of the same creatures in different colors fly out and run up the walls of the closet. While Andrew and the children try to coax the strange birds back into the drawer, all the lights go out. They are in total darkness. Then, a sliver of light filters in behind Grandma's dresses. It spins, twinkles, and grows stronger and bigger, until it becomes a door. Andrew reaches for the handle and pulls with all his might. When the door opens, bright light floods the closet. The strange birds, hidden behind the clothes, begin to chirp. "Ne-e-bey," they squawk, and fly through the door. Mary runs after them, shouting, "C' mon. We need to get them back."Thus begins the adventure into the Gold and Silver Forest, where they meet strange, talking creatures and witch-sisters, Befana and Cattiva, one good and one evil who fight for control of the magical Nonnaland. Will the children become involved in this battle, and how will they get back to Grandma's closet? Give the gift of imagination! Buy The Magic Door today and send the children on an adventure of fantasy, good versus evil, and self-discovery.