| The ghosts of one Adirondack cemetery come alive again in autumn, as teenage Will Durant first collects ghost stories from several area residents, and then tests out his machismo in the graveyard - and has a ghost experience of his own.
Mother-Son Team Brings New Life to Old Adirondack Ghosts
Adirondack Nightmare: A Spooky Tale in the North Country is a brief ghost story aimed at "middle readers" (second or third grade through fifth or sixth grade) - and firmly rooted in a strong sense of place. Not only the plot line, but also the villages, sights, family names, and even local recipes in the book are drawn from local lore. The book was created by two lifelong area residents: Rebecca Leonard, owner of Under One Roof Video stores in Plattsburgh and Morrisonville, and her son Nick, a sophomore in high school, who illustrated the cover and interior as a college project. Fresh off the presses, the book has been well-received in area gift shops, museums, and also in school and library presentations, where Rebecca Leonard urges students to follow their dreams, do what they can, and not let put-downs get in their way - just as she became first a successful business owner and then an author, even after being ridiculed all through her childhood.
Extensively researched, the book includes a full bibliography of both books and on line reference sources. It also includes three authentic Adirondack recipes: for maple sugar cookies, michigan sauce (the m is not capitalized, really), and candied apples, as well as bits of folklore ranging from a description of the sound of a loon to an actual pattern to make a paper helicopter seed.
More information can be found at http://www.rebeccaleonard.com.
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