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Sheri Sinykin

Sheri Sinykin


Last Updated: 4/13/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: Married
Age: 59
Sign: Taurus

City: MADISON
State: Wisconsin
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/27/2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007 

Current mood:  grumpy
..> ..> ..>..>
News broke this week--picked up by CNN--that Florida librarians are pulling Magic Attic Club books from the shelves after a parent discovered that the "Join the Club" 800 number at the back of the books had been reassigned to a "less-than-desirable company." As the lead author of this series, I have been receiving many e-mail inquiries about this situation.

I would encourage all librarians to immediately scout your collections for any Magic Attic Club books and then to remove the last page that lists a toll-free phone number for "Joining the Club." You would not want your young readers to dial this number!

By way of background, the Magic Attic Club was published in 1995 by Magic Attic Press (Portland, ME). The series creators, Jeff McKinnon and Gretchen Springer, sold the company over ten years ago to LL Knickerbocker Company, which then sold the company to Marie Osmond, dba Marian LLC. As far as I know, these book have been out of print for some time. Copies may still be available on e-Bay or through Amazon's Marketplace.

In trying to obtain statements from Ms. Osmond about this so-called "breaking news," I do hope the media will respect her privacy as she mourns the very recent death of her father.

For my part, as I had nothing to do with arranging for the original 800 number—which did indeed register young readers for the Club—I have no knowledge or information about the re-assignment of that same number once others assumed ownership of the company. It saddens me that a series written for the purpose of entertaining and empowering young readers should now be making these kinds of negative headlines.

Sheri Sinykin
Author, GIVING UP THE GHOST (Peachtree)
5:57 PM
 
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