My role this month is to act as a sort of fairy tale dwarf, a miner of gems that sit forgotten on library shelves. This is a peculiarly arbitrary list as the titles included are here because I remember them with great fondness as "transportation books"- books that transport the reader out of the present and into other worlds more romantic, exciting, and sometimes dangerous. Published at least fifteen years ago, these titles are old enough to need an introduction to a new generation. Grab a torch and go mine your shelves- you'll be surprised at the treasures you'll find there.

--Janice Del Negro, Editor

• Chase, Mary Loretta Mason Potts. Lippincott, 1958.
  Loretta, a somewhat recalcitrant adolescent, rejects her everyday life in favor of a manipulative bewitchment (Gr. 5-8; see also The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Park).
• Farmer, Penelope. Charlotte Sometimes. Harcourt, 1969.
  Charlotte can change places--and times--with the girl who used to sleep in her boarding school bed in the year 1918 (Gr. 4-6).
• Garner, Alan. The Owl Service. Walck, 1968.
  Three teenagers become unwilling participants in the re-enactment of an ancient romantic triangle (Gr. 9-12).
• Goudge, Elizabeth. Linnets and Valerians. Coward, 1946.
  Four siblings run away from their stern grandmother and find adventure and magic with their great-uncle (Gr. 6-10; younger for reading aloud).
• Hamilton, Virginia Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush. Philomel, 1982.
  Teenage Tree discovers the secret of a family tragedy through ghostly visits from her mother's dead brother (Gr. 7-12; see also The House of Dies Drear ).
• Hunter, Mollie. A Stranger Came Ashore. Harper, 1975.
  Only Robbie suspects that the mysterious stranger courting his sister is really a selkie who wishes to carry her off to his undersea home (Gr. 6-12; see also The Mermaid Summer and The Wicked One ).
• Langton, Jane. The Diamond in the Window. Harper, 1962.
  Eleanor and Eddy discover a strange "window" that helps them solve the mysterious disappearance of two children and a prince (Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud; see also The Swing in the Summerhouse and The Fledgling).
• Mahy, Margaret. The Haunting. Atheneum, 1982.
  Eight year old Barney's nightmares are chasing him- and they're getting closer. This little gem is often overlooked in favor of Mahy's The Changeover, which is aimed at a much older audience (Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud).
• Picard, Barbara Leonie. The Faun and the Woodcutter's Daughter. Abelard-Schuman, 1964.
  Lest you think that literary fairy tales began with McKinley and McKillip, here is a collection of exceedingly romantic tales that would make a subtle addition to a romance display or booklist (Gr. 6-12).
• Pope, Elizabeth Marie. The Sherwood Ring. Houghton, 1958.
  The stories of three romances, from the American Revolution to the present, satisfactorily combine with history and ghosts when orphaned teenager Peggy Grahame goes to live at the "ancestral estate" and meets some of her relations- from 200 years ago (Gr. 6-10; see also The Perilous Gard).
• Preussler, Otto. The Satanic Mill. MacMillan, 1973.
  Fourteen year old Krabat, miller's apprentice, discovers that the miller is a practitioner of black magic, and his apprentices are souls enslaved (Gr. 7-12).
• Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. A Season of Ponies. Atheneum, 1964.
  Young Pamela discovers a herd of magical ponies and becomes friends with the boy who loves them in time to save them from the evil Pig Woman (Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud).
• Wrightson, Patricia. The Nargun and the Stars. Atheneum, 1974.
  In the far north of Australia, young Simon befriends the "unseen" spirits that haunt the land, until he stumbles upon the Nargun, a primeval being with malevolent intent (Gr. 6-10).