The Unbelievable Oliver and the Four Jokers

March 18, 2019
Unabashedly clueless Oliver is ill suited for two roles that Bosch (the Secret Series) slyly gives him in this raucous series opener. The first is magician, which he botches from the get-go, attempting a card trick using an incomplete deck borrowed from his cousin, who assures him, “You don’t need a full deck for most tricks. You’ll see, magic is easy.” (Or not.) After his friends, twins Bea and Teenie, discover that Oliver is the only third grader not invited to the birthday party of the richest kid at Nowonder Elementary, they manage to book him as entertainment. Flustered, he hies to a magic shop, where he picks up a mangy top hat that’s home to a wisecracking rabbit, Benny. The bunny helps Oliver in his second mismatched role, that of investigator (“Hey, Benny? How do you investigate?” he asks) of the theft of the birthday boy’s prized present. Portrayed in Pangburn’s peppy cartoons, unremitting slapstick scenarios augment the comedy, as do puns, miscommunications, and Bosch’s cheeky, meddling narration. Oliver finally redeems himself with a sleight of hand (masterminded by the rabbit underneath his hat and detailed at story’s end for aspiring magicians) that wows the partygoers. Ages 7–9.

March 15, 2019
The author most recently of the Bad series (Bad Magic, 2014, etc.) returns with a new series opener for somewhat younger children.It's clear he loses none of his comedic touch with this shift in audience. The narrator invites readers to the story of 8-year-old generous-spirited Oliver, a Jewish boy and a beginning magician. He hasn't yet developed the confidence to pull off the card trick he's rehearsing in front of twin friends Beatriz, or Bea, who loves games involving math and science, and Martina, or Teenie, who loves running and acrobatics. As encouraging as they are truthful about Oliver's skills, the twins do Oliver a favor and get him invited to 9-year-old classmate Maddox's birthday party, who invited everyone in third grade but Oliver. Oliver's debut flops...and becomes a diversion for someone stealing the robot cat Bea and Teenie give to the tantrum-throwing birthday boy, who accuses Bea, Teenie, and Oliver of stealing said gift. The robustly multicultural cast--Bea and Teenie are Mexican-American and have two dads; Maddox's gal pal Memphis builds architectural models; and Jayden, who's drawn as black, is a tech whiz--is introduced naturally. With a talking rabbit on the lam, this amusing story of friendship, failure, and success (and an erupting candy volcano) neatly slips in vocabulary along the way.Readers shouldn't have so much ridiculous fun with a book as they do with this one. (Fiction. 8-10)

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