Storybook Forest

By: Jeffery Martin Botzenhart

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A thousand worlds in one place. That’s what seventeen year old, Ridge Baker, thought when he walked into the Cedarville, North Carolina library. Having recently moved to this small town, he knew the library would become a safe place for him to hang out from the outside world. Since he was a little boy, he had been constantly teased about his stuttering speech impediment. Staying quiet and reading books were his means of coping with this. His mom, though, forbid him from reading as it reminded her of what his late dad loved to share with him before he passed away. Yet Ridge was determined to keep reading, which also kept memories of his dad alive for him.

Libraries are a magical place, which Ridge soon discovers. The White Mistress of the library, an enchanted caretaker, along with her shapeshifting companions, begs for his help. Several books have gone missing. Though she guesses where the missing books are, only an avid reader like Ridge can safely return each to its positions on the shelves. But this task is filled with danger. Armed only with his imagination, Ridge immerses himself in the stories of the missing books to return to the library with each book once found. His quest grows more dangerous one page after the next.