This Side of Magic

May 4, 2009
This breezy lark by veteran collaborators (the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids) opens the Keyholders series. Best friends Luke and Penny witness curious goings-on when caring for Mr. Leery's cat, Mo, while the elderly neighbor is away (for starters, Mo reveals he can talk). On his return, Mr. Leery tells them a magical world exists beyond the thick bushes that edge his yard. He recruits the two as apprentice Keyholders, protectors of the border between the enchanted realm and the real world, which boggarts are threatening to invade. The kids sign on when they meet their “links”—“beings from beyond the border that form a special connection to the Keyholders”—Luke's is a bumbling dragon, Penny's a caustic unicorn. One drawback: the third Keyholder is their nemesis, Natalie. A stage-setter for the series, the story is short on enchantment, yet kids will be drawn to the likable, believable protagonists and the promise of more enticing magic and action to follow. Book two, The Other Side of Magic
, is due the same month. Ages 7–10.

June 1, 2009
Grades 2-5 From the authors of the popular Bailey School Kids books, the first volume of the new Keyholders fantasy series features Penny and Luke, two ordinary kids living in an ordinary town that (unknown to its inhabitants) borders a hidden land full of magical and sometimes perilous creatures. After some mysterious occurrences, kindly neighbor Mr. Leery reveals the truth to Luke and Penny. He has chosen them and another child to become Keyholders, apprenticed to him while they learn to protect the (to borrow a word from another series) Muggle world from the Queen of Boggarts and her malevolent minions from across the border. Appealing line drawings (one per chapter) and elements of humor keep the tone light. While the necessity of setting up elements of the series hampers the action a bit, readers will find Volume 2, The Other Side of Magic, more fast-paced. Theres nothing new here, but this paperback series will find a ready audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)