REVIEW: The Strangest of Strange Unsolved Mysteries Vol 1

The Strangest of Strange Unsolved Mysteries Vol 1
Author: Phyllis Raybin Emert

Before the internet and sites like Youtube, kids were reading books like this one to get a good dose of creepy-strange. When I went to school in the 70s/80s, there were all sorts of story collections about strange, eerie, and mysterious events. I'm glad to see these types of books are still being published. Strangest of Strange Unsolved Mysteries was published in 2010. I bet some of the stories from this book were included in the older books I read. Great unsolved mysteries are always intriguing!

I was totally addicted to these books in grade school! Every time we got a book order form, I would order one or two and then share the tales with my parents and older siblings. I'm sure they all got tired of my complete addiction to pirates, ghosts, unexplained/unsolved mysteries....but I loved it! Still do! These days I get a lot of my unexplained fix from Youtube and television....but I still read books like this every chance I get!

The Strangest of Strange Unsolved Mysteries Vol 1 gathers tales about lost treasure and ghosts. I had a great time reading all these tales! Some were a bit scary, others weird, and some a bit unbelievable....but all fun to read! I jumped online several times to check on these stories to see if the mystery was solved between its publication in 2010 and today. There are 25 stories about lost and sunken treasures, followed by 27 ghostly tales. Each section has its own glossary and bibliography. The stories are short and all are middle grade appropriate. Some stories are a bit creepy or scary.....but not overly so. Each story is short, but well-written. A reluctant or slow reader with an interest in strange facts might really enjoy this book. The stories are varied and all are interesting. Not a boring tale in the bunch!

All in all, a fun, interesting read! I'm hunting up a copy of Volume Two...

Phyllis Raybin Emert has written several books for middle grade kids. Many of them are about unsolved mysteries or strange facts ranging from lost ships and planes to UFOS and strange animals. I'm definitely going to be reading more of her work!