Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair

March 15, 2019
Polly and Spell return to shake up the school book fair after series opener Polly Diamond and the Magic Book (2018).Polly Diamond's day is going to be spectacular: Today is the school fair, and it's all about books. The mixed-race girl's love of books and words has only grown since her magic book, Spell, appeared, and the pair have had several adventures, playing with words and stories as everything that Polly writes in Spell comes true. At school, what starts as one idea to make up for the broken popcorn machine soon becomes a game of punny attractions as a Pop-Open-A-Book-Corn stall, a Title-Tastic-Photo Booth, a Read-A-Coaster, and much more spill from Polly's imagination to Spell's pages and out over the fair. The fair is a massive hit, but after a magic carpet ride and turning a friend into a dragon (and her annoying babysitter into a squirrel), Polly realizes she has lost Spell. Alas, retracing her steps is not as simple as vanquishing a puddle monster. This second installment is full to the brim with the fun and tricky flexibility of language, which drives the small tempest of plot. Potential new vocabulary is called out with italics and defined, though clarity is hampered somewhat by the use of italics for emphasis with other words as well. Nevertheless, Toledano's spot art continues to add another dimension to Polly and Spell's world, giving less-experienced readers extra context clues and establishing Polly's dad as white and her mom as a woman of color.For story lovers and storytellers. (list of books mentioned) (Fantasy. 5-8)

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April 1, 2019

Gr 1-4-Polly Diamond is spirited, imaginative, and, in her own words, spectacular. She loves reading books, making lists, and writing in her special book called Spell. Spell has magical powers and can communicate with Polly by writing back to her and making whatever she writes down come true. However, Spell takes everything Polly writes quite literally. When the school holds a book-themed fair, Polly excitedly gets involved. With the help of Spell, Polly turns her classmates into fairies and dragons and other book characters. All are having a good time until Polly discovers that she has misplaced her magic book, and can't turn her friends back! Polly is eventually reunited with her beloved text, and everything is set right (though not without some silliness and wordplay first). This series installment includes several references to popular books and comes with a suggested reading list. VERDICT Recommended for readers with strong vocabularies who enjoy wordplay.-Vivian Ho, Port Washington Public Library, NY

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