Ghostly Alcatraz Island

Children's Literature - Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Alcatraz is infamous for being the holding place for many violent criminals, but it is also known for its ghosts. Author Person presents the history of Alcatraz beginning with Native Americans who used it as a prison to the present day use as a National Park. This book is full of anecdotes, interesting facts, and photographs. The famous prisoners of Alcatraz, like Capone and Stroud, are mentioned along with how some Alcatraz stories made it to Hollywood. Underlying all of the facts are interesting tales of ghosts living at Alcatraz. From visitors to former employees to Park Rangers, there are many who believe there are ghosts haunting the island. The back matter includes a timeline, glossary of bold faced words that appear in the text, and a bibliography. It is part of the "HorrorScapes" series. This would make an excellent book to use with reluctant readers. It is a high interest text, but it set up to make it easy to read. It is visually heavy, with small sections of text presented on the page and in sidebars. Reviewer: Marcie Flinchum Atkins