A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness)

 

Someone must of recommended this book to me. I should keep better track because whoever that was, I need to have a conversation with!! 

This is quite a book. It's almost a short story - but maybe a novella is more correct. The way it is written is brilliant and captivating. 

Notes:

- it slowly unraveled for me. I realized that the monster is pushing Connor to face his feelings surrounding his mother's illness....but then then he is the monster sometimes. Maybe Connor unconsciously knows the truth but is afraid to face it. It's all a lot for a young boy. I'm shattered for him.

- This book was rather timely as I have an aunt who is really facing some big health struggles. How do books find you at just the right time?! This was definitely one. 

- The monster tree is a yew tree - which ends up being a type of treatment his mother tries as a last ditch effort. It doesn't work. 

Goodreads says:

The bestselling novel about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.

Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive.

Winston Chu Vs The Whimsies (Stacy Lee)

 

I love the concept of this book. Rick Riordan has people writing classics like Percy Jackson but they are folktales from other countries. I need to read more of these! 

I did this as a read-aloud. It's pretty long though and lots of detail that make it perhaps a little too long for grade 3. It took us almost 3 months to read it. Every now and then I'd read ahead and then figure out what parts I could skip to make it go a little faster. It is pegged as a middle-grade book, and I'd agree. Some of the humor was beyond my students. There is a little bit of boy/girl crush stuff too. Although, the soccer talk was a hit!

Goodreads says:

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling author Stacey Lee's modern reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale—replete with magic, boba, and lots of trash talking.

Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won’t happen overnight.

While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets. Before Winston can decide, a magpie flies under a shelf, and he impulsively grabs an old broom to sweep it out.

Mr. Pang hands him the broom, along with a dustpan. “Two for one. Congratulations.”

Deflated, Winston returns home, determined to put the broom incident behind him. Or at least in the closet. But when some of his most beloved possessions go missing, all Winston can think about are the broom and dustpan. Did they somehow take his stuff? And what—or who—will they dispose of next?

It’s time to break into Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, where clearly there’s more going on than meets the far-seeing eyeball. It’s time to fight magic with magic. And this time, Winston better have a plan.

The Elephant's Girl (Celesta Rimington)

 

I loved this book. It was a grade 3 book club pick. I chose it for October because it has ghosts and paranormal activity in it. It wasn't scary though. It was a beautiful story.

The voice in this book trailer is not the voice I imagine Lexington to have at all. It's way too young.

The theme of figuring out who you are and finding ways to accept yourself are great for young readers. Throughout the book, Lexington communicates with the wind and with an elephant and through it, learns to accept herself and find the strength in her own uniqueness. She also learns to allow her friends to be themselves and be unique as well. I loved how she stood up for herself and worked hard to discover what was lost (literally and figuratively). 

Goodreads says:
An elephant never forgets...but Lexington Willow can't remember her past. When she was a toddler, a tornado swept her away from everyone and everything she knew and landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo, where an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her family, Lex grew up at the zoo with her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.

style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" />Now that she's twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind's protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah's message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. Can Lex summon the courage to hunt for who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago?

Leprechaun in Late Winter (Mary Pope Osborne)

 

I'm gaining more and more of an appreciation for Magic Treehouse books! They really teach a lot about history and the real world. This was our read aloud for St. Patrick's Day week. After, we did a google search just like Jack did in the story and found some great information about her. Everyone in my class was so surprised to see that she really was real! Now the question is, what about the leprechauns?! Maybe they're real too! 

Goodreads says:

Jack and Annie are on a mission to find (and inspire!) creative people. This time, Jack and Annie meet an Irish girl and go on a magical adventure that changes the girl’s life—she grows up to be Lady Gregory, who helped bring back the Irish legends, started a theater, and helped the Irish people regain both their heritage and their pride.

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!

Stranded! A Mostly True Story From Iceland (Avar Dor Benediktsson)

What kid wouldn't be enamored by hearing a tale of visiting volcano? It's full of good advice, like if your shoes start to melt you probably shouldn't be standing there.  The author breaks the fourth wall and tells us what we are all thinking, for example, you should never sleep next to a volcano and it can't be true that his Grandpa did (He did!). The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful! I loved them!

Unfortunately, my library only has this book available as an e-book. I'd love to read it to my class! It's just not the same reading it on the ViewBoard though. I think I've got to buy it! 

Goodreads says:

Based on a true story, the author humorously recounts the time his grandfather got stranded with a friend on Surtsey, a brand new volcanic island in Iceland. The adventurers face epic challenges like molten lava, melted eyeglasses and scant supplies before finally getting rescued. Graphic novel-like layouts and spirited text invite readers to search for the one thing that's not actually true in this thrilling yet light-hearted tale of adventure. Endnotes include information about volcanoes, Icelandic culture and Norse mythology.

The Girl Who Drank The Moon (Kelly Barnhill)

 

It took me a while to get into this book. After about 100 pages, I was entranced It took me a while to get into this book. After about 100 pages, I was entranced by the writing and by the story. There's something really special about it! It made for a great Children's Lit book club discussion as well.. There's something really special about it! It made for a great Children's Lit book club discussion as well.

Goodreads says:

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

A Boy Called Christmas (Matt Haig)

 

I loved this book so much! It was a really good read aloud for December. I didn't quite start it soon enough and so we had a large number of pages to read every day. We didn't quite meet our daily goal so on the very last day while they were finishing the illustrations on the calendars made for parents, I was reading to them. While they were doing their craft, I was reading to them. It made for a really wonderful last day of school! We also watched the movie, which we also really enjoyed. There was a lot of chatter about things that were different in the movie and comments like, 'oh....this or that is coming next!'. The movie ends quite differently than the book. This prompted a great discussion (initiated by one of my students) about movies versus books. When he said, "I think I like the book better then the movie" my heart leapt for joy!! A Christmas miracle! :) 

Quotes and Signposts:

I haven't taught my class about sign posts so I wasn't really actively looking for them, but this book could be a great one for discovering them. 

p. 93 Father Topo: An impossibility is just a possibility you don't understand yet. 

p. 135 "A drimwick is a hope spell. If you have been drimwicked it gives you powers, even if you are only a reindeer,' said the Truth Pixie.

"What kind of powers?"
"It takes all that is good in you, and makes it stronger. It makes it magical. If you wish for something good, the magic will help. It is a very boring kind of magic. Because being good is boring.'

Nikolas thought about Aunt Carlotta throwing Miika out the door. "No', he gold the grubby-faced pixie. "You're wrong. The whole world - or the world I come from, the world of the humans, is full of bad things. There's misery and greed and sadness and hunger and unkindness all over the place. There are many, many children who never get any presents, and who are lucky to get anything more than just a few spoonfuls of mushroom soup for dinner. They have no toys to play with and they will go to bed hungry. Children who don't have parents. Children who have to live with horrible people like my Aunt Carlotta. In a world like that it's very easy to be bad. So when someone is good, or kind, it's a magic in itself. It gives people hope. And hope is the most wonderful things there is.'

p. 143 Memory Moment:
Nikolas is in jail, thinking of how he wants to escape because the troll plans to kill him and the truth fairy wants to see his head explode.

He remembered the day his mother died. Hiding from the brown bear, in the well, holding onto the chain holding the bucket, then losing her grip. The wail, as she fell, while Nikolas watched in horror from the cottage. 
On that day, and for a lot of days after (let's say one thousand and ninety-eight) he had believed that things could only get worse and that he would wake up in tears for the rest of his life, feeling guilty that he hadn't stayed with her, even though he thought she was running too.
He prayed, somehow, for her to come back.
Joel kept on telling him he looked like his mother but his cheeks weren't as red so sometimes Nikolas used to grab some berries and crush them on his cheeks and look at his reflection in the lake. And in the blurry water he could also imagine it was her, looking back from a dream.
"It's funny, Papa," he once said, as his father chopped a tree. "But I could probably have filled that well with tears the amount I have cried."
"She wouldn't want you to cry. She'd want you to be happy. Jolly. She was the happiest person I ever met."
And so the next morning Nikolas woke up and didn't cry. He was determined not to. And nor had he had his usual nightmare about his mother falling, falling, falling down that well. So he knew that terrible things - even the most terrible things - couldn't stop the world from turning. Life went on. and he made a promise to himself that, when he was older, he'd try and be like his mother. Colorful and happy and kind and full of joy.
That was how he was going to keep her alive.

p. 145 That was the point of magic, wasn't it? To do the impossible. 
(reference back to quote at front of book: Impossible - and old elf swear word)

The Dragon Thief (Zetta Elliott)

 

I reluctantly did this as a read aloud. We did the first book as a read aloud and it ended with such a cliff hanger that I gave in to reading the second one aloud. It ended up going over winter break though so it felt like it took us forever to finish it. Coincidentally, the 3rd book comes out on this very day! It's only in hard-cover though so we're going to have to wait...if only for the reason that I don't want to have the first two books in soft cover and then the third in hard cover! LOL I might take it out from the public library though and read it on my own. 

Dragons and magic are all really fun. In addition to that, I think this author does a good job of incorporating lessons and big topics without making it too pedantic or preachy. I will be able to find lots of reasons to refer back to it  for elaborative detail and stretching out a main event. It's a great book!

Notice and Note Signposts:

Theme: Belonging (p. 22)  Fitting in (p. 24)

Memory Moment: 

• Dad's death pp. 40-41

Again and Again

• Kenny/Jax - dads are absent

Words of the wiser

• p. 22 When you lose your home you lose part of yourself
• p. 24 Mumy says you can lose yourself if you try too hard to fit in
• p. 146
• p. 148

Contrasts and Contradictions

• p. 30

Ah ha Moment

Tough Questions

• p. 108 How To Handle Blue

Goodreads says:

Stealing a baby dragon was easy! Hiding it is a little more complicated.

Jaxon had just one job--to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best friend's sister, Kavita, is a dragon thief!

Kavita only wanted what was best for the baby dragon. But now every time she feeds it, the dragon grows and grows! How can she possibly keep it secret? Even worse, stealing it has upset the balance between the worlds. The gates to the other realm have shut tight! Jaxon needs all the help he can get to find Kavita, outsmart a trickster named Blue, and return the baby dragon to its true home.

Big Bad Bruce (Bill Peet)

 

This is really fun to read aloud! The witch's voice and Bruce's voice are so easy to imagine. Great read aloud! It was our inaugural read now that we have a document camera and can read something besides e-books! Yea!!

Goodreads says:

Bruce, a bear bully, never picks on anyone his own size until he is diminished in more ways than one by a small but very independent witch.

Lift (Minh Le and Dan Santas)

 

Every kid will relate to Iris. Who doesn't love pushing the elevator buttons?!

This story doesn't have a lot of words...but the pictures tell a lot! 

One great thing that came out of this is one of my students made a comment that she is really being a rock brain (we are doing Superflex and have learned about the villain, Rock Brain). He was right! 

We loved how the girl lets her brother join in the adventure at the end. Good connections made to Magic Treehouse

Minh Le is amazing. I loved Drawn Together and I don't think I've ever come across a book Dan Santas is involved with that I didn't like. 

Goodreads says:
When Iris's elevator button-pushing is disrupted by a new member of the family, she's pretty put out.
That is, until the sudden appearance of a mysterious new button opens up entire realms of possibility, places where she can escape and explore on her own.
This is a story that will lift your spirits and expand your imagination, by the award-winning creators of Drawn Together.

Dragons in a Bag (Zetta Elliot)

 

This is a 2021 Global Read Aloud pick. I'm hoping that this year I can actually connect with another class as we use it for a read aloud. It's a great story! One thing that concerns me is that they only read a couple chapters a week. I'm not sure we can drag it out that long! I'd definitely be interested in reading the next books in the series.

There are lots of topics that could be discussed in this story: diversity, forgiveness, racism, segregation, forgiveness,  etc.  

In time we could use this as a "book club" book paired with Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher.

Read aloud to my class in October/November2021. It is way better as a read aloud! Then again, most books are.

Notice and Note Signposts

Words of the Wiser

• p. 116 Trub to Jax re: segregation
• p. 128...if you believe

Memory Moment

Contrasts and Contradictions

• p. 8 beer
• p. 10 box with no addresses
• p. 48 Ambrose invisible? 

Again and Again

Ah ha moments

Tough Qs

Goodreads says:

The dragon's out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author!

When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother--but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get the baby dragons delivered safe and sound? Or will they be lost in Brooklyn forever?

Words on Fire (Jennifer Nielsen)

Jennifer Nielsen never disappoints. Lots of good cliff hangers and surprising twists at the end. Well worth a read!

Goodreads says:

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen transports readers to a corner of history with this inspiring story of a girl who discovers the strength of her people united in resisting oppression.

Danger is never far from Audra's family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossack soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian -- they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous.

When Cossacks arrive abruptly at their door, Audra's parents insist that she flee, taking with her an important package and instructions for where to deliver it. But escape means abandoning her parents to a terrible fate.

As Audra embarks on a journey to deliver the mysterious package, she faces unimaginable risks, and soon she becomes caught up in a growing resistance movement. Can joining the underground network of book smugglers give Audra a chance to rescue her parents? 

Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (Chris Colfer)

This is a really fun read with all the additional insight on traditional stories. It would be a good book for kids ready for a book that is challenging yet an easy connection for them. Open up to any page and you could use much of this to teach elaborative detail. It would be fun to do this for an end of year book club pick.

Goodreads says:

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.
The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

Looniverse: Stranger Things

I'm learning how to do better book talks and get kids excited about a book. One of the sure fire tricks is to read the first couple of chapters. Then everyone is dying to read the rest.

I took it home and finished it...because I felt the same way. I needed to know what happens! When I finished it I thought, "Gee, this seems familiar!" Then it struck me. David Lubar! We read Punished for the Battle of the Books a few years ago. This one is pretty similar.

The Branches series are great for kids not quite into chapter books just yet.

Goodreads says:

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

Mira Forecasts the Future (Kell Andrews)

Well, she forecasts the future by learning to forecast the weather. Science rules!

Great story about weather and science and sticking to your guns when you know you're right.

Goodreads Says:

Telling the future is a gift: you either have it, or you don’t. And Mira, daughter of the famous fortune teller Madame Mirabella, just doesn't. When Madame gazes into the crystal ball, magic swirls. When Mira looks . . . nothing. Then one day Mira gets a pinwheel and a windsock, she finds her own form of “magic” in the science of predicting the weather—and saves the day for everyone! This engaging tale, with a fun touch of science thrown in, helps kids understand that we all have our own special talent. 

A Big Day for Baseball (Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne)

I'm a big fan of the Magic Treehouse series for the age of kids that I teach. This one is particularly relevant for us because we read the story of Jackie Robinson every year as part of the anthology we use. This tells the story of Jackie Robinson's first game and would be a great preamble to reading Teammates.

Goodreads says:

Meet Jackie Robinson and solve a mystery in the #1 bestselling Magic Tree House chapter book series! 

PLAY BALL! Jack and Annie aren't great baseball players . . . yet! Then Morgan the librarian gives them magical baseball caps that will make them experts. They just need to wear the caps to a special ballgame in Brooklyn, New York. The magic tree house whisks them back to 1947!

When they arrive, Jack and Annie find out that they will be batboys in the game--not ballplayers. What exactly does Morgan want them to learn? And what's so special about thisgame? They only have nine innings to find out!

Discover history, mystery, humor, and baseball in this one-of-a-kind adventure in Mary Pope Osborne's New York Timesbestselling Magic Tree House series lauded by parents and teachers as books that encourage reading.

Magic Tree House books, with fiction and nonfiction titles, are perfect for parents and teachers using the Core Curriculum. With a blend of magic, adventure, history, science, danger, and cuteness, the topics range from kid pleasers (pirates, the Titanic,pandas) to curriculum perfect (rain forest, American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln) to seasonal shoo-ins (Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving). There is truly something for everyone here!

Have more fun with Jack and Annie on the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com! 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum)

I recently saw a stage production of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I had wanted to read the book ahead of time so that I could see the differences between the original story and the stage production. Although I didn't find the book in time, I'm still glad I read it.

A lot of the book is pretty much the same as the stage production, until you get to the end. The end of the book goes on much longer after Lion and Tinman and Scarecrow receive what they're seeking. The wizard gives them a much bigger run around in the book and there seems to be a lot more violence, which is often the irony in fairy tales written for children - except for that lady who wanted to take Toto. I don't remember her in the book at all. The other thing is in the book it wasn't a dream, like the movie or the play...thank goodness! I think that is a pansy way of making sense of a story. I liked that about the book! Also, Dorothy wears silver shoes in the book, not red. There seem to be a lot more witches in the book. I couldn't keep them straight. Every point on the compass has a witch, it seems. I also couldn't keep track of all the places in Oz in the book. Mifkets? Merryland? The Land of Ev? They were also things I couldn't really keep in my head.

I'm glad I read the book.

Good reads says:

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.‘“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”’Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home.With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.

Ella May and the Wishing Stone (Cary Fagan)

This may be my favorite Cary Fagan story yet. My class was captivated by it as well. It definitely had some gasp moments...one of my favorite things when reading to my class. This would be great one to read while we're doing our Rocks and Minerals unit.

Goodreads says:
One day, Ella May finds a stone that has a line going all-all-all the way around it. Surely a stone this special must grant wishes, she decides. Soon she is busy making wishes and bragging about them. When her friends want to share the fun, Ella May objects. But she soon learns that keeping the stone for herself is a sure way to lose friends. By using her imagination – much more powerful than any stone – she is able to grant everybody’s wishes, including her own.

Cary Fagan’s witty and sharply observed story will delight young readers who are beginning to explore the pleasures and challenges of sharing and friendship.

Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat (Bryan Langdo)

This is a hilarious story. Very well written and a joy to read aloud. It's fun to use a cowboy twang when reading it. It was an interesting mix of magic, cowboys, talking animals, danger and heroes.

Goodreads summary:

Tornado Slim is just your regular cowboy . . . until the day he meets the coyote. The coyote gives Slim his special hat and asks him to deliver a letter to the sheriff of Fire Gulch City. Slim has never been to Fire Gulch City, but he figures he can handle it. As Slim travels from town to town, disaster seems to follow. Pretty soon Slim learns that his new hat is NOT your average cowboy hat. Will Slim ever make it to Fire Gulch City? And what did the wily coyote put down in that letter, anyway? Watercolor illustrations add lively humor to this original tall tale. 

Upside Down Magic (Sarah Mlynowski)

One of my grade 4 students gave this book to me MONTHS ago because he thought it would be good for book club. He'd ask me what I thought of it and I'd embarrassingly say I wasn't quite finished it yet (Why didn't I just say I hadn't started it yet??!) I finally started reading it and he's right! It is a great book.   Even better, when the kids in my class saw it on my desk, they were all excited. One, who NEVER comes to book club came to me and said, "Mrs. Ackroyd, I'd so excited about what we're reading next for book club!" Turns out, it is Upside Down Magic she is excited about. Guess we better read it!

It's a bit of Harry Potter and a bit of The Quirks. In this one adults are definitely on the outskirts of the story. I was a little sad that they never got their magic under control so that they could go to the school they wanted to go to. Although, maybe I should read the rest of the books in the series....


The magical characters, as told by Nory, the main character:

p. 87 This is Upside-Down Magic class, she thought. A Freezer, A Fierce, a girl who shrinks things, a girl who wets things, a boy who sees sound waves, two wonky Fluxers and a Flyer who can't come down from the ceiling.

Goodreads summary:

From New York Times bestselling authors Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins comes the hilarious and heartfelt story of a group of magical misfits.

Nory Horace is nine years old. She's resourceful, she's brave, she likes peanut butter cookies. Also, she's able to transform into many different animals. Unfortunately, Nory's shape-shifting talent is a bit wonky. And when she flunks out of her own father's magic academy, Nory's forced to enter public school, where she meets a group of kids whose magic is, well, different.

This new, offbeat series from hit authors Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins chronicles the misadventures of Nory and her oddball friends, who prove that upside-down magic definitely beats right side up.