Review of "Asha in the Attic," by Chris Powling

 Review of

Asha in the Attic, by Chris Powling ISBN 0763567930

Five out of five stars

The magic of storytelling

 Asha is a young girl and she and her grandfather regularly go up into her grandfather’s attic and she finds something tucked away. At that time, her grandfather then tells her the story behind the object. One was a bag that he used to take his pet rat to school, and another was a military medal he received when he saved a  buddy when they were under fire. Her mother’s clothes are there, which leads to another story about her mother.

 Asha wants one of the stories to be about her, but her grandfather tells her that all the objects in the attic are older than her, so it will be some time before there is a story where she is featured. Wanting to be the focal point of a story, when her grandfather is asleep, Asha goes into the attic with her stuffed owl. Her goal is to place the owl in the attic so that it can be found, and grandfather will tell the story.

 However, it is scary being alone in the attic, so Asha decides to leave. Unfortunately, the door is jammed, and she cannot open it. Growing more frightened over time she huddles down until she sees a shape outlined in the skylight. She is overjoyed when she realizes it is her grandfather, there to rescue her. He has brought tools, so in a short time he has the door opened and they are back in the main section of the house. Bringing a good story with them.

 This is a great story about grandparents and a grandchild. Children love stories, especially those that feature close family members. Given the size of the book and the quality of the illustrations, this is a great book for reading to large groups of young children. The text is also large, so it can be read from some distance.