Waterville isn’t a traveler’s destination. It’s a place they travel through, without more than a passing glance. It’s a farm town that even people who live close by, aren’t sure exactly where it is. Which is too bad, because it holds Toaster Pond...and three extraordinary teenagers. 

Toaster Pond isn’t a normal pond. Just like, Doug Manion, Skip Corbin, and Pierce Butterworth aren’t normal teenagers. When Toaster Pond and the three Waterville teens meet for one fateful dip on a hot summer day, an adventure ensues. All because they won a simple game of Hide and Seek…that wasn’t so simple.

When you scratch the surface, Toaster Pond is a place to cool off on a hot day. When you swim down deeper, Toaster Pond is a portal to Sanger Castle. A very magical castle, in the very magical land of Sangerfield. And it’s all governed by Lord Eisenhut. A formerly “deceased” Waterville resident.

Life that is magical, is also dangerous. Ludicrous Zwevil, from a long line of Zwevil’s, brings the danger. Living in Shadow Forest isn’t good enough for her. She wants it all! That includes Sanger Castle. All for her very own. And whether they like it or not, Doug, Skip, and Pierce have to stop her.

Can three kids from a small farm town called Waterville, save a magical castle from an evil villainess?

Reviews:

"It will do serious or cynical readers absolutely no good to try to stay grounded in fact or reality: willing or not, they will be swept along on the imaginary adventures and exploits that await them in the magical waters - and in the pages  - of  'Toaster Pond.' "
PsBrown, artist and historian, Waterville, New York

"Toaster Pond is a wondrous adventure for children. The setting is a place called Waterville. In Waterville during the summer the teens are ready for their championship game of Hide and Seek. But this is not your normal regular game.

Isabella Iverson was the chosen one. Chosen to be the Liberator of Brooms. It was a position she never knew existed. How could she know? She was only twelve years old. There were a lot of things that Isabella knew nothing about. She didn’t know that there was an Adirondack Society of Witches, or that her mother was the Savior of Brooms; the very person who chose the Liberator of Brooms. Isabella also didn’t know how her long lost father Cade really disappeared.

Isabella found her job as Liberator of Brooms to be fun. Until she learned about the Broom Mistress. The Broom Mistress was the one who took the brooms away from the witches and she wasn’t pleased that Isabella was returning them. The two were bound to meet. And the Broom Mistress had lots of secrets to tell. One of those secrets was how Isabella’s father really disappeared. The Broom Mistress also knew Isabella’s mother's true identity as the Savior of Brooms. Which was something Isabella didn’t know.

Just when Isabella thought she had the whole Adirondack Society of Witches figured out. She was told that her mother Averil was the true evil one. Was it all true? Or was it a trick? Isabella’s adventure begins…

 

"Through mystery and adventure, Isabella and the Room of Lost Brooms touches on
themes young readers have in their hearts: loss, bravery, self-discovery, and,
biggest of all, the resilience of a child's spirit."
Peter Marino

Author of Dough Boy (Holiday House)

 

"A mother with a double life, a father that vanished under odd circumstances, a hidden room in the basement; enough mystery in Isabella's life to unsettle anyone.  Yet Isabella, with courage and intuition, will quiet her fears, listen to her heart, choose between truth and lies, and rise up to the challenge."  

Sylvie Wickstrom

Childrens Illustrator & Artist

 

"Absolutely "spellbinding"!!! I LOVED IT. I woke up @ 6:30 this morning and quickly went through the paper just so I could get back to Isabella!!! I cried happy tears at the end and of course was also sad that I had finished it. All great signs of a riveting book read. I look forward to more. Truly fascinating."

Betsy R.

Queensbury, NY

 

"While cleaning the basement, Isabella discovers a secret room filled with many brooms.  Before long, she realizes that
the brooms belong to witches and that her job is to return them.  But there are so many things she doesn’t
understand.  Why were the brooms taken away from these witches and why are they hidden in her house?

She’s so caught up in returning the brooms that she doesn’t notice the woman following her.  The Mistress of Brooms
is not happy that the brooms are returning to their rightful owners when she worked so hard at taking them away. The
Mistress has a plan and hopes to convince Isabella to join her side.

While Isabella’s questioning everything, she has no idea that her mother has a powerful secret and is watching her
daughter’s every move.

Peter De Witt will enchant readers with his tale of a young girl with an extraordinary amount of bravery."

www.teensreadtoo.com

 

Isabella made the Reading Tub's Book Bag for Kids!

 

Catcher's Mitt (Centering Corporation, Grief Digest, October 2007)

I got a left handed catcher’s mitt for Christmas in 1981. I was eleven. It was the last gift my dad bought me before he died of Cancer. It's a gift that I still have today. Catcher's Mitt is poetically written for children or adults. We all have trials and tribulations we go through but it's how we deal with them that really counts.