Gerald Allen Wunsch Reviews

Added January 27, 2004

Curiosity

Author: Gerald Allen Wunsch
Publisher: 1st Books Library
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: May 2003
Genre: Middle Reader
Format: Trade Paperback and Ebook download in PDF/HTML
Price: $9.50 paperback, $3.95 ebook
ISBN: 1-4107-3699-7 paperback, 1-4107-3700-4 ebook
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty

It's summer and Ginger Wanamaker and her best friend Irene Wong have come to stay with Ginger's grandparents. Ginger's grandparents live in a nice house out in the country; they even have two rocking chairs, not that they use them that often. George and Abby love having their granddaughter and her friend staying with them and come up with plenty of fun ways to keep the girls occupied.

One day, George goes to drop off some genealogy papers for a friend and invites the girls to go with him. Along with George and Abby's wire fox terrier Laird, they drive down the country lanes in George's class MG sports car. At the friend's house, the girls are given a short tour in which they are shown a secret hiding place and staircase leading to the attic. The friend's house was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Their short tour fascinates the girls and they start talking and thinking about the Underground Railroad and what it would have been like to be escaping to freedom. But their adventures with the Underground Railroad don't stop there. Thanks to Laird's digging, an underground tunnel is found on George and Abby's property and the fun of learning about history becomes even more special.

With his debut novel, Gerald Wunsch skillfully weaves historical fact with fun. Children will learn while they read, enjoy a great story, and are given a chance to explore even more facts with the wonderful appendices included in Curiosity. While a lot of emphasis is placed on the Underground Railroad, it's not the only thing readers learn; they learn about classic MG sports cars, genealogical research, wire fox terriers and even collectible coins. I heartily enjoyed Curiosity and expect good things from this talented author.

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