The Wizardology Handbook

The Wizardology Handbook
Authors: Dugald Steer
Illustrator: Anne Yvonne Gilbert/Helen Ward /John Howe/Tomislav Tomic
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763634018
ISBN-13: 978-0763634018

The Wizardology Handbook is a companion book to Wizardology and belongs to that wonderful series of Ology books by Candlewick Press. Like all the Ology books, it’s packed with information and illustrations. It even has a section in the back where young wizard apprentices can write their own spells and results as well as some colorful stickers.

The book is set up as a lesson book divided by the seasons. It includes lessons on Western Wizards, A Wizard’s Robes, Wizard Familiars and many more. The book also includes a glossary of magical terms.


I always am amazed by the quality of Candlewick’s books, especially the Ologies. There’s so much attention to detail, paper quality, the little embellishments that make turning the pages a joy. I’m as big a fan as are my grandkids and children. Each of my four children as the whole library of Ologies and unashamedly say they belong to them, not their children. The kids have their own copies. Wizardology in particular is a favorite of my middle son Phillip, a big strapping 24 year old with a brown belt in karate and he loved this companion book. I bought Egyptology for his daughter Isis when she was born (how could I not with a name like Isis?) and it is Phillip that reads it to her every night even long after she’s fast asleep.

I found the book to be completely fun and a perfect addition to the rest of the series. These books are so much fun for kids! A perfect gift for any child who loves fanciful things.

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After
Authors: Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
ISBN-10: 0152055487
ISBN-13: 978-0152055486

The Mislaid Magician is the third in a series about two letter writing cousins who live in an alternate England where magic, magicians and wizards exist. There’s even a Royal College of Magicians. The other two books in the series are Sorcery and Cecilia and The Grand Tour. This book is ten years after the honeymoon and both cousins now have families of their own.

The story begins with Cecilia’s husband being called by the Duke of Wellington to investigate the disappearance of an engineer/magician. Cecilia leaves her children with Kate and Thomas and sets off with her husband to help find the missing magician. The mystery deepens as they discover something wrong with the ley lines in the area.

The story is told via correspondence between Kate and Cecilia as well as Thomas and James (the husbands).

The children figure into this story as well. Edward gets kidnapped when investigating a mysterious gypsy caravan on their property. Kate and Thomas rescue him and find another child, a silent, seemingly very well off girl named Drina.

The Mislaid Magician is a charming story with lots of mystery. There’s several to solve and the epistolary way it is told is very original.

The Chestnut Soldier

The Chestnut Soldier
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN-10: 0439846773
ISBN-13: 978-0439846776

Recommended for grades 5-7


The Chestnut Soldier is the third in the fantasy Snow Spider series set in the hills of Wales. Gwyn the magician is back, along with Emlyn and Nia. This story takes place two years after Emlyn’s Moon. The children are older now and settling into their lives when things take a turn when the mad prince Efnisien’s dark spirit is accidentally released. At first, the children think that everything is okay, but when a mysterious relative – a soldier appears things really start to get interesting.

This is by far the strongest in the series and a worthy ending to the trilogy. The children are teenagers now and have their tumultuous emotions to deal with as well as the mysterious stranger, dark magic and danger.

Gwyn’s magic is challenged as he desperately battles to save his friends and the world from the dark soul which has captured the troubled soldier all the while trying to save his friendship with Nia as well.

Once again Jenny Nimmo has created a magical and completely believable fantasy. Her ability to mingle legend and the everyday modern life and make it completely plausible is nothing short of masterful. The Chestnut Soldier is sure to be an all time favorite.

Mira, Mirror

Mira, Mirror
Author: Mette Ivie Harrison
Publisher: Penguin Puffin
ISBN-10: 0142406430
ISBN-13: 978-0142406434

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who’s the fairest one of all?

Whatever happened to the magic mirror when the wicked queen in Snow White died? What actually was the magic mirror? Where did that wicked queen come from?

Mira, Mirror answers all that and more in this dark and interesting modern fairy tale that has very little to do with Snow White.

Mira, the poor daughter of a peasant is sold by her mother to a witch who requires an apprentice. Affection starved, she bonds quickly, desperately with the other apprentice, a beautiful dark haired girl who has her own nefarious plans and becomes Mira’s adopted sister.

The beautiful girl befriends Mira and shares her magic with her, but it is a dark and scary magic wrought from the killing of little animals. As the adopted sister grows more and more beautiful with the magic she steals by killing, her purpose becomes clear. She will become a queen at any cost. One day she tricks Mira into holding a mirror for her and Mira feels herself change to glass and wood.

Mira is now a mirror and forced to do her sisters bidding for years as she hangs trapped in the old witch’s ramshackle cottage. One day the sister queen never comes back and Mira is left hanging (literally) for 100 years until a peasant girl named Ivana finds her.

Determined to free herself, Mira convinces Ivana to take her with her as she escapes from an arranged marriage. This flight leads her right into Talia who has her own escape to make. She and Ivana switch places with Mira’s magic and things get really interesting. Their adventures take them through another fairy tale loosely based on Beauty and the Beast.

Mira, Mirror is an interesting and dark take on the two fairy tales. It is narrated by Mira who is a pretty complex character. The strong and determined women characters make the story very interesting and layered. These are girls who forge their own way and change their expected roles in unexpected ways.

The story shows how true friendship, love and respect can transcend even the darkest of souls and change lives. It shows that you can become something else if you try hard enough. Another thing I loved about it was that it shows that beauty isn’t superficial, it comes from within. I think that Mira, Mirror is an excellent book with strong role models.

Book description from the publisher:

Two sisters. One a witch and a queen. The other transformed by her sister's touch into a mirror—a mirror with voice and memory and magic, but no power to transform herself back to the girl she once was. And then, mysteriously, the queen disappears and another girl finds the mirror. This girl has troubles of her own, but she is also a means to escape and soon the girl and the mirror are on their way to find the magic that will bring both pain and hope to both of them. Mette Harrison's mesmerizing voice spins a breathtaking tale of love, lies, and redemption.

The Summer King

The Summer King
Author: O.R. Melling
Publisher: Amulet Books
ISBN-10: 0810959690
ISBN-13: 978-0810959699

The Summer King is a haunting, absorbing and lavishly told tale set both in present day Ireland and the world of Fairy.

Laurel, an 18 year old girl who is grieving the death of her twin sister Honor, returns to Ireland and the scene of her twin’s death to try and find out who killed her sister. While the devastated family thinks it was an accident, Laurel, armed with her sister’s puzzling journals believes her sister was led into something unsavory. She finds odd references of little people, in particular one little man and other more disturbing entries. She’s also starting to be plagued with dreams.

Upon arrival in Ireland, Laurel finds her old boyfriend Ian Grey with whom she was with the day her sister died still nursing hurt that she had left him, blamed him for her not being there to save her sister. These young people have lots of angst and passion to work out and that alone could fill a book.

But wait. There’s the small matter of a cluricaun, something like a leprechaun but a little darker. This little guy reminds me of a small Bacchus, always toting around his poteen and pissing drunk when he’s not lying through his teeth. There are ravens that turn to warriors, scary sea fairies called the boctogai, a wild Irish pirate named Grace O’Malley, eagles that talk and worlds within worlds.

There is also the possibility that Laurel’s sister isn’t dead but sleeping somewhere in Fairy and if Laurel can complete the quest of freeing the Summer King, then her sister will be freed. The quest isn’t all that it seems though and neither is Ireland, the Summer King himself, Laurel’s grandparents or Ian who may just have the darkest secret of all.

I loved The Summer King and was completely swept away by it. I discovered that it is the sequel to Hunter’s Moon which I haven’t read (now I will). It stands as a single novel though. You really don’t need to read Hunter’s Moon although you, like me after reading this, will most probably want to read it and everything else Melling writes. The Summer King is romance, magic, mystery, betrayal, legend, lore, history and simply marvelous, engaging storytelling. It’s wonderful.

Tomorrow's Magic

Tomorrow’s Magic
Author: Pamela F. Service
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978-0-375-84087-6


England.
Sometime in the future.
Nuclear winter.
Mutants.
Magic.
Arthurian legend.
Boarding school.

It’s five centuries after the world has been torn apart by nuclear war. England has fared better than other countries because they had disarmed and destroyed all nuclear weapons and so weren’t a target when all hell broke loose. Still, the nuclear war has affected everywhere in the world. People that aren’t mutants are dark skinned, the sky is brown not blue and ice is everywhere. Trees and nature are almost extinct.

Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna are outcasts in their British boarding school. Heather isn’t wanted by her mother and her new stepfather, she’s plain and she hangs out with animals. Wellington or Welly is fat, nearsighted and a bit of a nerd. He reads about military campaigns and dreams of becoming a strategist since he can’t become a soldier. Needless to say the bullies of the school, in particular one named Nigel pick on them constantly but Heather and Welly are fast friends and find a way to survive.

On one of their adventures they run into trouble and are saved by Earl, a thin, pale boy who was found years ago speaking a strange language and taken in as a charity case. The children welcome Earl into their circle of friendship and try to find out more about him. Why is he so pale? Who were his people? Where did he come from? Why does he have those screaming nightmares?

One day a couple claiming to be Earl’s aunt and uncle come to claim him but he feels something wrong about them, something evil and escapes. Heather and Welly follow him, determined to protect their newfound friend. A battle with the aunt, who turns out to be Morgan Le Fey of Arthurian legend brings Earl’s memory back and his friends are shocked to find he is the one and only Merlin, rescued from his forced entombment by Nimue and Morgan by a chance blast to the cave.

Earl/Merlin and the children set off on a quest to find Avalon and Arthur who Merlin thinks will save this world. What follows is an incredible and beautiful tale in grand style. There are battles, magic, fairies, trolls, teen angst, friendship and loyalty.

Tomorrow’s Magic is also a timely warning about nuclear war, war in general and the importance of saving our world from destruction. The grim and icy future that Pamela Service illustrates so well is entirely possible and scarily real.

Book description from the publisher:
It's 500 years after the nuclear holocaust that devastated the earth's population and left the few survivors dealing with unending winter. At their remote British boarding school, Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna have a lot in common. Both are misfits trying to avoid attention, and both are fascinated by Earl, a tall, calm, older boy with no recollection of his past, but a remarkable knack for showing up when he is needed most.

When a blow to the head brings Earl's memory back, he claims that he is actually Merlin . . . a 2000-year-old wizard.

Originally published in two volumes in the mid-1980s, Pamela F. Service's creative, futuristic spin on the Camelot legend will appeal to Arthurian purists and fantasy lovers alike.

Emlyn's Moon

Emlyn’s Moon
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN-10: 0439846765
ISBN-13: 978-0439846769

Emlyn’s Moon is the sequel to The Snow Spider which I haven’t read but that was no problem as Emlyn’s Moon is a stand alone story. It gives just enough background to let you know what was going on in The Snow Spider and then moves quickly into this magical and kind of dark story.

Young magician Gywn and his friend Nia have been warned to stay away from Emlyn Llewelyn, the strange boy who claims his mother lives on the moon. Nia’s curiousity gets the better of her and she wanders into his home and becomes enchanted by the fantastic paintings his father has done. Emlyn and Nia become fast friends and learn that a deep mystery and a mysterious magic have something to do with his mother who disappeared many years ago.

I loved this book! It’s not your typical fantasy, but rather a dark scary one set in modern day Wales. Magic runs in family lines and mystical and alien frost children come visiting the earth. There’s mystery, magic, art and nature in abundance. The book is also very realistic in the way the children interact and the emotions that they have. Nia is stressed out about moving into their new home and leaving the farm that she loves, she doesn’t understand the secrets of the grown ups and why she isn’t supposed to visit Emlyn and his father who she thinks are wonderful. There’s a lot going on in a short book and it begs re-reading. I think this is a book for anyone who loves children’s literature and highly recommend it. I can’t wait to read the first book in the series now!

Thirteen Senses by Victor Villasenor

When I first heard that Victor Villasenor had written Thirteen Senses, I was excited. I adored Rain of Gold so much, that I expected even greater things of his new book. I trekked down to Olvera Street from nearby Echo Park to attend his signing and discussion there. I wasn’t disappointed. Mr. Villasenor spoke eloquently, vibrantly about his life, about his dyslexia and most of all his love of family. My son Phillip and I had a wonderful time after the discussion, speaking with Victor and his wife about the book and about life in general. We had to buy two copies of Thirteen Senses because we were both fighting over who would read it first. Two hours after the event saw my 18-year-old son and myself both deeply engrossed on each end of the sofa books in hand. Neither of us spoke for a while but occasionally one of us would laugh out loud and the other would look over the pages with smiling, happy eyes. We both finished the book late that night or rather early the next morning and we both had the same conclusion – we LOVED it.

The story starts at the 50th wedding anniversary and wedding vow renewal of Lupe and Juan Salvador Villasenor. When the young priest performing the ceremony asks Lupe if she will obey her husband, she shouts out no to the shock of her family and friends. She goes on to say that she will love and cherish him but obey? How dare the priest ask such a question? After the ceremony, her children ask her if she really loved Juan Salvador and the ensuing chapters go on to describe their first years of marriage.

The book is filled with the family’s mystical connection to spirits, God, angels and each other. There is pain, betrayal, love, laughter, wonder and joy throughout the lives of this couple and their children. One reviewer states that the mysticism is too much even for California, but the reviewer obviously isn’t Mexican. I grew up with this and found the book very real, very Mexicano and very human. I think I will always love Rain of Gold more than Thirteen Senses but that is not to say that one is better than the other. The truth is that they are both equally excellent, it’s just that for me Rain of Gold is more about the romance, the finding of that other, that other half of yourself, your soul mate and that sense of wonder and of floating on a cloud. Thirteen Senses is about a different kind of romance, one based on daily life, everyday things like changing diapers, making the beds, sex, grown up love, paying the bills and building a life together and the work it entails. There is fighting and making up, hurt feelings and anger, love and sex. In Rain of Gold we are taken back to our first love, young love and in Thirteen Senses we grow up.