1960s

That’s How It Was by Hazel Pacheco

A slyly funny and heart-warming tribute to childhood before technology. . . The last day of the family’s annual visit to the farm is filled with intrigue. Grandma is questioned, a long-forgotten book of letters is revealed, and Operation Finders-Keeper is set into motion. Still, it takes the trip home to finally uncover the answers Randy Ray’s daughter is seeking.

That’s How It Was by Hazel Pacheco

By Book Lovers Magazine

That’s How It Was by Hazel Pacheco

Best described as slyly funny and heart-warming, That’s How It Was: Operation Finders Keepers is uniquely written in letter format. Written from a ten-year-old boy’s perspective, Randy Ray’s letters prove to be captured moments in time just waiting to be discovered by his daughters thirty-seven years later. These treasured memories allow his daughters to get to know the boy who became their father.

That’s How It Was: Operation Finders Keepers by Hazel Pacheco

By Book Lovers Magazine

That’s How It Was: Operation Finders Keepers by Hazel Pacheco

That’s How It Was: Operation Finders Keepers comes under “interesting children’s fiction” category. This is a unique children’s book because it is primarily done in letter format. Set in the late 1960s, the letters are to Randy Ray’s future family. His ten-year-old self shares his perspective on people, animals, and faith as he contemplates whimsical and not-so-whimsical career choices. Who would have guessed that a class assignment would lead to captured moments in time waiting to be discovered by his daughters thirty-seven years later! His letters allow his daughters, Sarah and Melissa, to get to know the boy who became their father, and understand the essence of what it means to grow up country.