Lost in Redskirt Forest

Set in the twenty-first century, this novel introduces the Wolfe family who live in the small fictional town of Redskirt, Nebraska, which has an enchanted forest named after a notorious legendary Indian maiden. Teenager Don Wolfe shoplifts a toy from a local store, triggering tense events at home that lead him to run away to the forest. Once in the forest, Don enters into dangerous encounters in Horigron (the Land of Horrible Grown-ups) involving an evil troll, a horrible giant, a wicked witch, a big bad wolf, getting help from lost teenagers of different cultural backgrounds. He manages to steal five magical gifts that help him make daring escapes. Don has even more terrifying adventures in Teridren (the Land of Terrible Children) involving evil mythic figures from world folklore with hypnotic mystical powers. Although Don's magical treasures and friends help him, he must find a way out of there.This satirical fantasy adventure is a unique interactive experience filled with lessons about life, featuring verbal folklore and a compelling strategy board game. It should appeal to children from eight to eighty and has a surprise ending about the harsh realities of our world.

Since 1988, Neil Grobman has been a biomedical editor at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, Neil taught English, writing, folklore, and mathematics in secondary schools and at several universities (Cabrini College, University of Oregon, University of Kentucky) between 1969-1986. He has four college degrees, a BA (English) from Johns Hopkins University, an MA (English Education) from Stanford University, and another MA and a PhD (Folklore and Folklife) from the University of Pennsylvania, and worked on postdoctoral research at Winterthur Museum in the area of religious folk art, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1979-1980. In the future, Neil would like to sit in a hot tub most of the time.