DO-IT-YOURSELF MAGIC

Chew turns out yet another undistinguished light fantasy, this one weaker than most. At their local toy store, Rachel and Scott buy a ""Make-Anything Kit""; but the minute they start playing with it, strange things involving a mysterious tool that can make things grow larger and smaller begin to happen. After a misadventure with a sports car they've built, they come home to find a burglar; quick-thinking Rachel makes him small enough to imprison in a glass. Then they build a castle, the burglar escapes into it, and they follow, entering a medieval world--but can they leave it? This suffers from pedestrian writing, abrupt plot changes, poor characterization, and an all-too-abrupt ending. Although Chew's illustrations are marginally better than her prose, only her most dedicated fans will enjoy this.