MARY AND THE DREAM QUILT

In Victor’s children’s book, a little girl named Mary discovers the magical Dream Quilt, a patchwork door to the lands of fairies, nursery rhymes, mermaids and ghosts.

Mary, a little girl with “mysterious” eyes who lives with her grandmother and her best friend Squeaks the Mouse, is about to have a special birthday; her loving grandmother has decided that it will mark the beginning of Mary’s education in using magic—a power that Mary doesn’t yet know she possesses. The girl’s instruction starts early, however, when she discovers that Great-Great Grandmother Abigail’s Dream Quilt can transport dreamers to worlds of enchantment. When Mary uses the quilt to travel to Fairy Land and befriends the tiny Spring Fairy, she is so beguiled that she forgets one of the Dream Quilt’s rules—“bring nothing back.” The Spring Fairy’s visit to Mary’s world causes flowers to bloom in the dead of winter, alerting a wicked witch to the whereabouts of the Dream Quilt. When her attempt to steal it nets the Spring Fairy instead, it’s Mary to the rescue—but only if she can discover her magic in time. There is a good deal of charm in Victor’s tale, which seems envisioned to be the first in a series, but her too-frequent use of all-caps for emphasis is a saccharine distraction even for a book most appropriate to be read aloud to a kindergarten-to-second-grade audience. Peter J. Victor’s simplistic line drawings and some misplaced and missing commas call for some refinement as well. Less sugar and more visual spice would help this magical tale reach its full potential.

A charming but uneven story about a little girl who must save the day.