The Unbelievable Oliver and the Sawed-in-Half Dads

April 1, 2020
Budding magician Oliver and his twin pals Teenie and Bea are back, three months after their inaugural adventures in The Unbelievable Oliver and the Four Jokers (2019). Readers meet them at a cake testing. The twins' dads, Yale Drama School graduate and writer Simon and photographer/florist Miguel, are getting married. In the age of out and married politicians running for the presidency, the nuptials are treated matter-of-factly as a milieu for this lighthearted sequel even as the news shocks Oliver because he assumed the dads were already hitched. The ever supportive dads, at their daughters' insistence, ask Oliver both to be a ring bearer and to entertain the guests at the rehearsal brunch. Of course, Oliver, prodded by the girls and with the help of his talking bunny, Benny, and his cousin Spencer, must elevate his repertoire, so he decides on the titular illusion. The boy magician pulls off the sleight of hand, to his, the twins', and the guests' delight...until one of the dads goes missing. With tongue stuffed in his cheek, Bosch builds the silliness with total seriousness, and forces of nature Bea and Teenie make delightful foils for the earnest, slightly anxious Oliver. Pangburn's cartoons help the text along, depicting all three kids with darker-than-white skin (Oliver is Jewish and the twins, Mexican American) and adding generous dollops of additional humor. Trick instructions are appended. A fun and funny follow-up that celebrates the magic of family and community. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 15, 2020
Grades 2-4 Aspiring magician Oliver turns detective again (The Unbelievable Oliver and the Four Jokers, 2019) when a groom turns up missing on the day of his wedding. The dads of Oliver's best buddies Bea and Teenie (Beatriz and Martina) are getting hitched at last, and everyone's excited?except maybe one of the grooms, Simon, who disappears shortly after being sawn in half by Oliver during the rehearsal brunch at Hauntington Gardens. Is it a case of cold feet or something more nefarious? Pangburn adds to the episode's hustle and bustle with scenes or panels on almost every page, featuring button-eyed characters (one, Oliver's magical mentor Benny, a wisecracking rabbit), ghostly decor, and helpful diagrams for readers yearning to dance the bunny hop, fold a shirt, or even magically saw a doll in half. For Oliver, the case turns out to be literally a piece of cake as, with a theatrical flourish, he cuts to the denouement just in time. Readers will be as wowed as the wedding guests.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)