B Magical #1: Missing Magic - Softcover

Connor, Lexi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545117364 ISBN 13: 9780545117364

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2011

Synopsis

A magical new series sure to put a S-P-E-L-L on young readers!

Eleven-year-old Beatrix, B for short, just wants to be able to cast spells the way all the other witches in her family can. But when B discovers that magic happens when she spells out a word, the C-H-A-O-S ensues!

About this title

About the Author

Lexi Connor loves word searches, crosswords, and word puzzles. When she was younger, she won her county bee and traveled to the regional competition, where, in a moment of extreme stage fright, she misspelled "C-E-M-E-T-E-R-Y." She lives with her black cat named Abbey in Massachusetts.

Reviews

Grade 3–5—Beatrix is distraught. She is an 11-year-old witch, which means that her spell-casting ability should have kicked in by now. Unfortunately, the only thing she does well is spell words correctly—literally. She cannot help but feel depressed about her situation, but when a new English teacher arrives at school, B starts to learn that she is not as ordinary as she feared. In fact, her talent for spelling makes her more special than she could ever imagine. This is a great book in a new series, and one that reluctant readers will be pulled into because of the fantasy elements. The story line itself is one many readers can relate to, as B has insecurities she has to deal with, such as being too shy to speak in class and too timid to stand up to the class bully. It is a good start for those moving beyond the Daisy Meadows books (Scholastic).—Elizabeth Swistock, Jefferson Madison Regional Library, Charlottesville, VA
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Sixth-grader Beatrix, aka B, despairs of ever being able to cast a rhyming spell, which will show she’s come into her magic, like the rest of her family. Her other problem is that she’s afraid to speak out in public. Both of these issues come to the fore when her new teacher offers Black Cat concert tickets to the winner of a class spelling bee. Although an excellent speller, B can’t spell properly when everyone is looking at her. Yet she eventually figures out that when she spells silently to herself, whatever she spells out actually happens. And that spells C-H-A-O-S. This light fantasy skips along with just a few bumps in the road. For the most part, however, Connor controls her story well, mixing some real childhood angst with magic, and getting the most out of the word spell. The companion book, Spelling B and the Trouble with Secrets, provides more fun. Grades 2-4. --Ilene Cooper

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From B Magical #1: The Missing Magic

"It's going to be a spelling bee," Mr. Bishop explained. "Everyone will take their turn, standing here in front of the class, spelling their word out loud."

B felt her stomach flutter. Oh, she wanted those tickets! But how could she stand in front of the class and spell well enough to win? She could stay up late every night studying.

But standing up in front of others-well, there was nothing that could prepare her for that horror.

B clenched her fists. If only she had her magic and could work a spell to eliminate stage fright.

But she couldn't.

She'd have to earn those tickets the hard way.

As usual.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545117364
• ISBN 13: 9780545117364
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144