DRIFT HOUSE: THE FIRST VOYAGE
by Dale Peck
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN-10: 159990005X
ISBN-13: 9781599900056
Ages 10-up
448 pages

After tragedy strikes in New York City, the Oakenfeld children --- twelve-year-old Susan, nine-year-old Charles, and five-year-old Murray --- receive news that they are going to live with their Uncle Farley in Canada for a while.

When they arrive at the Bay of Eternity, the youngsters immediately find their new home odd. The appropriately named Drift House --- which was built by a Frenchman named Pierre Marin --- resembles a ship crookedly washed ashore as if from another era. Then there are the mysterious Mrs. Applethwaite and Mr. Zenubian, who seem to meet the siblings' every need, though they never get to see them. As they begin to ask their eccentric uncle questions about the unusual house, they notice his nervousness at answering them.

When the Oakenfeld children later explore the house and meet a peculiar parrot named President Wilson, they find their new situation becoming very strange indeed. Then they awaken to find Drift House drifting out onto the Sea of Time, a magical and mysterious place where The Past, Present and Future converge. Susan, Charles and Murray --- along with Uncle Farley and the clever, talkative President Wilson --- embark on an extraordinary adventure into a world where they will discover evil mermaids, comical pirates, a wise whale, and the secrets of Time itself.

DRIFT HOUSE is the first book in a lovely, well-crafted adventure series that is sure to be another children's classic that readers of all ages will never want to see end once they've begun reading it.

   --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)

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