Gone With the Wand

I picked up Gone With The Wand from the recommended reading area of Thomas Hughes Children's Library. The cover art was cute and the title of the story is strange enough that I took a look through it. The opening sentence caught my attention and so I decided to check it out and review it.

The book seems to be an example of a picture book for a slightly older audience. Where many picture books are meant for young kids to help them learn to read, and eventually progress to Easy Readers and Chapter-books, this story is probably only viable as a level 3 Easy Reader, or a read-aloud story. The humor is more mature than most picture books and the story is certainly more complicated than a lot of picture books and many Easy Readers.

The tale begins with Tooth Fairy Second Class, Edith B. Cuspid telling the audience that Bernice Sparklestein, once the best Fairy Godmother in the entire universe and beyond, is having a bad wand day. All of Bernice's normal tricks are turning out terribly. She can't even magic up some tea and crumpets for herself and Edith to snack on. Now that it seems like Bernice's days as a Fairy Godmother are over, it becomes Edith's goal to find a new suitable job for her dear friend to take on that will put her considerable skills to good use.

While the book is filled with magical jargon and funny phrases, it is quite a charming read. The jokes involved are very cute and it is humorous to see Bernice going through all the costume changes as she tries out various fairy type jobs. The story also includes a decent amount of jokes and parenthetical remarks that are aimed at the adults reading the book. All of this is accentuated by the cartoon-ish art and crazy surroundings the two fairies find themselves in.

The book is a nice read aloud choice for a first grade story time or perhaps as a supplemental picture book to break the monotony of the Easy Reader grind. It would also fit in quite well with a fairy godmother display or reading program. All in all its a solid magic themed picture book to add to the collection.