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More Magic Stories (audiocassette) by Patrick Douglas. Edithangel Productions, 1996.
ISBN 1-896224-09-1 50 mins.

Patrick Douglas is an Ontario resident, a writer, educator, and story-teller. His biographical information says that he has written over 1500 stories and poems. This tape includes 8 of his stories. An introduction to his work begins the tape. In it, Douglas says that he nas written these stones to show people at their best as they face challenges, and to leave the reader hopeful. I was a little startled by the word "reader" since it is an audio tape, but in fact, the pace of the stories does makes it sound as if Douglas is reading the stories rather than telling them. The one exception is the last story, Legend of the Wyeth Haunting which sounds more as if it were told.

Most of the stories are about love in one way or another. Although some have young characters in their, they have a nostalgic, sentimental quality which makes them seem as if they are intended for adults rather than children. There is no indication in his biography of where Douglas' works are published, but a couple or the stories reminded me of the material in the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. My personal preference is for a little savoury mixed in with the sweet, but there is certainly an audience which seeks out heartwarming material. One story, told in the first person, is about a man whose terminally ill son is a great baseball fan. The boy's favourite player responds to his fan letter by visiting in person and then sending a surprise for the boy and one still later for the boy's father. In another story of an eight year old's discovery of the concept of gravity helps a widowed uncle recover from the loss of his wife. lronheart has a neat twist at the end, and Legend of Wyeth Haunting is a ghost story without chills and gore, in which love gives substance and allows for a happy ending.

Synthesized music is used in the short breaks between stories, but as there are no liner notes, there is no ldentification of music or musician. Order from Edithangel
Productions, P.O. Box 21, Chatham, Ontario, Canada N7M 5K1 519352-9535
FAX 519 351-3062

The Second Story Review, Vol 1, No. 4, December 1996