A clever story that explores the interplay between relationships and magic.
Lav, Amethyst, and Rose, who are in their last year of Elementary Magic, must strengthen their friendship bonds as they try to solve an environmental catastrophe.
After half-Mer student Cyan pranks Lav on the first day of spring semester, he reacts angrily, and both boys end up in Dean Jared’s office. There Lav discovers that Cyan, who’s now been assigned as his official buddy, is also from Île Violette. As the boys prepare for their Equinox Test together, Lav sees how poorly some people treat the Mer. Back in Brooklyn, Amethyst is attending school in the Under City—she loves it among the Mer and has trouble reconnecting with people when she visits “the land part of Brooklyn.” Rose returns to school feeling sad that she’s no longer able to use Heart Leading to connect with Amethyst; she’s determined not to let their connection fade even more. One Saturday when Amethyst is home, she and Rose Heart Lead to Chicago for a visit with Lav. They learn that the spell that created land is starting to fail, and “now the water is starting to take it back.” The friends must cooperate to help land and water stay in balance to sustain the magical cycle. The racially diverse, well-drawn characters navigate relatable friendship changes and frenemy encounters and grow throughout the story. The sweet, cheerful illustrations convey the characters’ emotions and help readers visualize the magical settings.
A clever story that explores the interplay between relationships and magic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781338792577
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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