The Forgotten Door

I have lost track of how many times I have read this, just for myself or to my kids. My grandparents saw how much I loved it as a child and read it too! I read it as a child and thought, the world the main character, Little Jon, comes from is the world I want to live in. If you can find a copy, hang onto it!

This book was my introduction to both science fiction and the concept of social conscience. I found my copy from the late 60s in a box of old stuff and leafed through it today - I was surprised to find out how much this little book had informed the person I am today. One of very few books I still have from that era. I must have read this in the 3rd or 4th grade (1968-69), by 5th grade I was reading Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein... I'd still very much recommend it to modern readers say, age 9-13...

I read this book when I was a VERY young child, and had almost forgotten it until I saw it in a used book bin, and immediately bought it, took it home and read it.I was astonished to discover that many ethical and moral ideas that I sort of thought were mine - ways of looking at the world and waysof understanding other people - I had actually learned from this children's book. But there it was: written in "The Forgotten Door", by Alexander Key: things I had said myself all my life and statements that I had made all my life. And I had no idea that this simple little book was where I had actually got them from in the first place. I was amazed to realize what a large, large influence this book had actually been.What a wonderful job Mr. Key has done. If you give this book to your child, it will change them. And it's a great read, too.

Of all the things that I had as a child, little remains except my copy of the first edition of this book, published through the Scholastic Book Service, in 1965 for 45 cents, which I purchased in the 4rth Grade at Van Der Veer Elementary School in Somerville NJ. The story is about a boy from another world who by accident enters this one. He is like us, yet he is more like the us we ought to be. Some his special gifts, his harmony with nature, an ability to connect with deep inner sources of being for healing are concepts that are not unfamiliar to us in 2002, but this was heady, cutting edge material almost 40 years ago. In the book we encounter ourselves, our good, our bad. The book is a call to a timeless morality, a powerful little story for kids like I was in the fourth grade awakening to both the conflict and promise of the world around us, and seeking a moral star to guide us.

The Forgotten Door has to be one of the very first SF books I ever read. I still have my copy, an old paperback from the 1960s or 1970s. I used to read this book over and over again when I was a kid. It had drama, suspense, a sense of wonder, mystery. All the stuff that would keep a kid on the edge of his (or her) chair, turning the page. In fact, it was a great book to read late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I used up a few flashlights on this one.Alexander Key's book should be considered one of the all-time best fantasy/science fiction novels for kids (it's not really a genre-specific story). Heck, I even recommend it for adults. That old paperback is one book I just can't bring myself to part with.

I am thrilled to see this book is still available!! "The Forgotten Door" is one of my favorites! When I was in third grade, I didn't read very well. I remember crawling to the top bunk and my sister, Andrea, read this book aloud to me. Later, in sixth grade after my reading improved, I checked this book out of the school library and was thrilled once again to be transported through the forgotten door to follow the adventures on Jon. It didn't matter that I knew how the book ended. I still loved it!My sister recently had her first baby, Allison. I knew I wanted to buy this book for her (even if she is a bit young yet). Now I can read it to my niece and the tradition will continue. I highly recommend "The Forgotten Door" to readers of all ages. It's truely a classic not to be missed!

Long ago in public school children used to be able to order from Scholastic Book Service and than wait anxiously for the shipment to come directly to your classroom. Alexander Key's 'The Forgotten Door' was one of the gems available. Not exactly science fiction and not pure drama, The Forgotten Door transported a child to an America now seemingly gone, populated with characters humble and strong, clear-eyed in their morality. The action centers around a family thrust into a maelstrom of fear and uncertainty when they befriend a boy who has amnesia and is strange, and different. He can communicate with animals and can jump six foot fences, and read people's minds. Before long his difference is noted and attracts attention from unsavory elements in our society. The Bean Family attempts to protect the boy and the action takes off. Alexander Key has a touch for the small detail that contributes to authenticity--the elder Bean limps --a reminder of a foreign war. The surprising and heartwarming ending will have you and your children reading this book.