The House with a Cook in its Kitchen

Longtime readers of John Bellairs no doubt have their favorite scenes and some may even have favorite scenes that include food. How many times, for example, did Johnny scurry over to Professor Childermass's house with plans to discuss or decipher a clue only to be deterred as attention turned to cakes, candies, or tortes? What made Mrs. Zimmermann's chocolate chip cookies so popular? What makes a proper snake year sherry?

#Poll: Your Favorite Marilyn Fitschen Artwork in #FaceInTheFrost

Marilyn Fitschen, artist and illustrator - and one of John Bellairs's oldest friends - created 12 full page illustrations for The Face in the Frost.  In celebration of its 50th anniversary this year, we want to know which one is your favorite.

Perhaps it’s the sight of Prospero’s house, complete with hippopotamus weather vane? Or maybe it’s our old friend, King Gorm (the Wonderworker)?

Or maybe you prefer something darker, more unsettling – there’s something hanging from the boughs of a tree, there’s the eerie entrance to the forbidden forest, and then there's Five Dials. Need we say more?

Pick your favorite from the list below...and use the spell!

Celebrating the 'Year Of #Pompeii'

This opening paragraph in Forbes recently caught our eye:

New excavations have been ongoing at Pompeii for a few years, largely related to conservation work and other attempts to protect the UNESCO world heritage site from both looters and the environment, but 2018 has produced dozens of visually striking artifacts and skeletons that suggest 2018 was the 'Year of Pompeii.'

The ancient town is best remembered for being destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD - some 19-hundred years ago. Some of the archaeological interests that surfaced this year include:

Inside One Of Hollywood's Most Famous Wurlitzer Pipe Organs

LAist writer Tim Greiving writes about the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that shaped The Sound of Music and The House with a Clock in its Walls:

'House' Has Potential for a Universal Franchise #HouseWithAClock

Comic Book Resources (CBR) reports that with the weekend success of "The House with a Clock in its Walls" that Universal Pictures may have stumbled onto its own low-key answer to some sort of franchise.  After all, they point out, there are a dozen novels in the series - from both Bellairs and Brad Strickland: