Dear Pat,
I thoroughly enjoyed your book, Sean’s Secret Room. While reading it, I was thinking of my Mom and what she would be doing at that time in her life. I wish I could have read it to her and listened to her stories. As I mentioned in one of the e—mails, she was born in 1908 near Elgin, Illinois. Her Mom and Dad were immigrants from Norway. After her dad died, her step-dad moved the family to Trinidad. Mom was a young girl at the time with a brother a couple years older.
I’m assuming your book was written at about a fourth or fifth grade level, since Sean is that age. It has suspense with the secret room, a ghost, and going back in time. This would stimulate the imagination at this level. It gives interesting information of the early 1900’s which would be of interest to many 12 year olds. Bringing President Roosevelt and the coal miners issue into the book, gave it more depth.
The DVD was most interesting and nicely organized. It made the book more realistic. The lost teddy bear added a personal touch.
As an adult, I would like to learn more about Trinidad, about Sean and Nicholas’ family, and activities of the time. How about some more books about the boys as they grow up?
Jonna Heins

