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RETURN TO FINKLETON

Suitable for children 9–11 years old, this continuation of a magical adventure is a pleasure to read.

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A father leads his family hiking one evening to see an unforgettable sight: thousands of glowworms lighting up Finkleton Valley.

In The Magic of Finkleton, the first book in this series, Jack, Lizzy and Robert realize their family acquired not just a shop, but a shop with magical secrets, including the ability to control weather. After mastering the weather and reaping two years of perfect crops, two of the children find a room hidden beneath the library floor. Initially, it seems to be just a room with more books, but closer inspection reveals some peculiarities, such as a book that glows and one that feels cold to the touch. A rather ordinary book about memories seems harmless, but odd things start happening after Robert takes it with him upstairs to browse: A lightning strike causes a fire that burns the house of one of Finkleton’s leading citizens, and one of the children carelessly reveals the magical secrets found in Uncle Harry’s shop, encouraging a greedy outsider to pursue owning land in Finkleton. Robert believes he can right some of his past mistakes, but he accidentally breaks a clock which has the ability to move a person forward and backward through time. Meanwhile, the children work tirelessly to fix their town. In Hilton’s lively book, she creates a thriving town as the setting, using images children can easily imagine and appreciate. Miss Caroline, a resident devoted to helping the children, needs more detail and history, considering her central role. The story sharply focuses on the three children and their actions, which young readers will appreciate. At first glance, some of the magical items in this book may remind readers of Harry Potter—a clock that controls time and a book that can answer direct questions—but their use here is unique. The plot ambles along and presents situations that, beneath their supernatural surfaces, readers will likely find familiar.

Suitable for children 9–11 years old, this continuation of a magical adventure is a pleasure to read.

Pub Date: April 26, 2011

ISBN: 978-1469901084

Page Count: 228

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012

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DOWN BY THE STATION

Hillenbrand takes license with the familiar song (the traditional words and music are reproduced at the end) to tell an enchanting story about baby animals picked up by the train and delivered to the children’s zoo. The full-color drawings are transportingly jolly, while the catchy refrain—“See the engine driver pull his little lever”—is certain to delight readers. Once the baby elephant, flamingo, panda, tiger, seal, and kangaroo are taken to the zoo by the train, the children—representing various ethnic backgrounds, and showing one small girl in a wheelchair—arrive. This is a happy book, filled with childhood exuberance. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-15-201804-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999

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ONE CHILD

Disheartened by environmental destruction, a girl determines to do all she can to reverse the process in Cheng’s optimistic invitation to personal action. The girl plants a tree, walks to school instead of riding, cleans up the yard, writes, sings, marches, and speaks for the world, then imagines, in an affecting final series of illustrations, what would happen “if the children of the world did all that they could.” Woolman bases his ink-and-colored-pencil illustrations on the metaphor of the gradual cleaning of a stained-glass window; his early images are blue and gloomy, but frame by frame, a glistening world emerges. His depiction of the brilliance achieved aids the simple, restrained text enormously, as he adds the layers needed for making the text specific. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000

ISBN: 1-56656-330-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000

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