Perrywinkle and the Book of Magic Spells (Easy-To-Read Books)

All kinds of bewitching mishaps occur when Perrywinkle, who is training to be a wizard like his father, takes "The Book of Magic Spells" to school

Grade 1-3 Perrywinkle has a few problems with his magic until his father, the Great Wizard, gives him The Book of Magic Spells . But Perrywinkle's few problems become many when he opens the book. A crowd of creepy creatures emerge from his top hat in place of bunnies; when his teacher asks him to spell "waterfall," the chalkboard begins to leak, spewing water all over the teacher and classroom. The magicking-gone-wrong and funny metamorphoses will work their own spell on beginning readers, but not until they've sorted out a few inexcusably confusing bitsabrupt shifts from dialogue to action which will have them checking for a skipped page. The logic becomes clear upon continued reading, but the humor and cleverness would be more immediate with a smoother text. Zimmer's full-color creatures and funny characterizations are some of his best, adding comedy and clarity. Kids will love it, especially with a preliminary reading aloud to demystify the language's sleight of hand.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Take a book about a seven-year-old wizard-to-be, give him a book of magic spells and a wisecracking pet crow named Nevermore, add Zimmer's characteristically quirky illustrations, stir with a snappy text and what do you have? A spellbinding debut for Madsen, who handles the difficult beginning-reader style with aplomb. Perrywinkle has a little trouble mastering wizardry, a trade he inherited from his father, the Great Wizard. First of all, he often reads the opening lines of a spell but doesn't bother to read the end lines, until disaster strikes. He misunderstands the rule "Wizards do not spell!" until his teacher requests that he spell waterfall and he floods the classroom. And he develops Magic Feverthe disease of casting spells to settle playground disputes. But once Perrywinkle finds a friend, with whom he can share magic and other things, all ends well.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.