Spells - Hardcover

Gravett, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416982701 ISBN 13: 9781416982708

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

Once upon a time, there was a frog who wanted to be a pirate...or a handsome prince...or anything aside from a small green frog, really. When he discovers a very mixed-up book of spells, he decides to take matters into his own hands. But magic spells are tricky, and frog will tranform himself into a whole menagarie of things before he reaches his fairy tale ending.

This clever picture book from award-winning author Emily Gravett will keep kids and parents both entertained with its mix-and-match pages and twist ending.

About this title

About the Author

Emily Gravett is the author and illustrator of Matilda’s Cat, Again!, Wolf Won’t Bite!, Blue Chameleon, The Odd Egg, The Rabbit Problem, Dogs, Spells, Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal), Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts, Monkey and Me, Meerkat Mail, Tidy, and Old Hat. Her first book, Wolves, was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration. Her second book, Orange Pear Apple Bear, was a Quills Award finalist, on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Emily lives in Brighton, England, with her partner, their daughter, and the family dog. Visit her at EmilyGravett.com.

Emily Gravett is the author and illustrator of Matilda’s Cat, Again!, Wolf Won’t Bite!, Blue Chameleon, The Odd Egg, The Rabbit Problem, Dogs, Spells, Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal), Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts, Monkey and Me, Meerkat Mail, Tidy, and Old Hat. Her first book, Wolves, was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration. Her second book, Orange Pear Apple Bear, was a Quills Award finalist, on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. Emily lives in Brighton, England, with her partner, their daughter, and the family dog. Visit her at EmilyGravett.com.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4—As in Wolves (2005) and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (2007, both S & S), Gravett continues her playful focus on the book as physical object. Here a small green frog transforms an old book of spells into a pirate ship, its torn pages serving as sail, flag, telescope, and water. As the amphibian cavorts through ripped-up incantations, he finds a scrap that reads: "Spell to Become a Handsome Prince." On the ensuing spreads, the frog's attempts to line up the proper magic words and phrases are depicted on the verso, while on the recto, split pages lead to increasingly hilarious results. Thus, the jumbled spell may read, "Into the cauldron these words cast Hoppity, Fluffity, Carrotozabbit. Stir three times and out spells...R/ABBIT" (or "R/AKE" if one turns only the lower portion, revealing the snake's posterior, now supporting the head of a rabbit). The initial letter or blend resides in the top half-page; the remaining letters are on the bottom. The spells reconfigure, too. The controlled palette is comprised of parchmentlike cream, pale green, and yellow, and occasional glittery stardust. While the frog's wish does come true, it is undone when he fails to read the fine print—a condition clarified only on the endpapers. This tour de force of design and detail is guaranteed to delight all ages, especially those just learning how to...spell.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library END

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1416982701
• ISBN 13: 9781416982708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Gravett Emily