The Magical Battery Park - Mom's Choice Award Recipient and National Indie Excellent Award Finalist (Paperback)

The Magical Battery Park is a delightful children's work of fiction which combines elements of fantasy and adventure, as well as a mysterious puzzle that must be solved in order for the children's journey to be complete. The story brings a historical monument called Castle Clinton back to life through characters that embark on a fantasy adventure. It's a fun-filled tale of wanderlust aimed at the happy-go-lucky and explorative nature of children. The Magical Battery Park is also filled with humor. Along the way the children will learn something about the history of Castle Clinton, and about the aquarium-based animals that once lived there. The main characters are twin girls, Meghan and Jessica, along with their brother Zach. There's also Peyton the penguin, Bella the Beluga whale, Sparky the electric eel, Bertha the barracuda, Venus the octopus, Ally the alligator, and Sugar and Spice the golden seahorses. This is how the story unfolds: Battery Park, Castle Clinton, and the SeaGlass carousel become an exciting place for three children from Colorado who are visiting New York City. They learn that Castle Clinton was once a beautiful aquarium, but don't want a history lesson while on vacation-that's no fun for kids They must visit the yucky old castle before they can ride on the new aquatic SeaGlass carousel. The children's adventure begins on the carousel when a magical eel grants Zach's wish to live in an aquarium with sea creatures as his friends. Zach and his twin sisters are off on an enchanting ride and find themselves inside New York's Aquarium back in the 1930s. They must explore the aquarium to help solve the puzzle of how they will return to the SeaGlass carousel and Battery Park. Along the way, they save a distressed barracuda, outsmart an alligator, have a penguin for a tour guide, get advice from an octopus, and learn about the aquarium while looking for the spectacular golden seahorses. Educational values are presented with the lexis of the text. This point should be paramount to parents who purchase and utilize The Magical Battery Park. Perhaps the best feature of the book is the journey back home traversed by the children. The children have to solve the puzzle of how to get back home from the 1930s through clues they find in the aquarium and with the help of the clever animals that live there. Also, the innocence of Zach wanting to help a dying fish makes him a hero to all of the animals in the aquarium. The Magical Battery Park is a subgenre of fantasy, related to historical fiction. The story is set within a specific historical period in the 1930s, which has gripped audiences in films like Cinderella Man, and HBO's epic and expensive series Carnivale. Indeed, there is something special about the 1930s, a unique quality of endurance and perhaps even a rough innocence which makes the decade so appealing to artists and writers. Castle Clinton is an important part of the book, just as when it was an aquarium in bygone days. Other elements of pure fantasy are added, such as the enchanted carousel and magical creatures that also help with the telling of the history of the New York City Aquarium which was a major social meeting place in the 1930s. The Magical Battery Park details a subject that has not been written on for children before. It is an historical fantasy, about Castle Clinton, which is a national monument. Few people know about the history of the building. They go to Castle Clinton to get tickets to see the Statue of Liberty, and they don't take the time to learn about the history of this fort. The book will give children a taste of what the aquarium was like during the 1930s, along with what fish were displayed at this aquarium that made it one of New York City's most popular attractions. Ultimately it is the incorporation of the elements of adventure, fantasy, fun, and real historical recreation that makes The Magical Battery Park such a wonderful read for children.