Magic For Sale

Starred review from May 15, 2017
What would the stock of a magic shop be like? Young Georgie McQuist gets an eyeful one night when he lingers after closing time.Actually the light-brown-skinned lad sneaks in on a dare, hides out next to the jars of "fresh pickled elf" until the doors are locked, then falls through a trap door to the crowded cellar. There, further eerie treasures from "freeze-dried ghoul and dragon drool" to "a kraken for your swimming pool" are all waiting to be inventoried by a harried ectoplasmic clerk. Undaunted, Georgie offers to help. Written in reasonably tight limerick-style verses that break into couplets for the actual inventory, the episode ambles along amiably until the arrival of the store's cackling proprietor, Miss Pustula Night (a white woman with hooked nose and blonde hair in curlers). Seeing the tally complete, she decides not to eat Georgie but to send him on his way with a souvenir--a hairy pink monster that sends his classmates off screaming at school the next day. Beginning with an outside view of the shop, with its caged skeleton and toothy "Unwelcome Mat," Shelley expands on Clickard's tally of witchly and wizardly stock in trade by further cramming every nook and shelf in sight with precisely detailed arcane items and thrillingly icky specimens. One-stop shopping for all your elixir, potion, and spellcasting needs. Jinxes 50 percent off! (Picture book. 6-9)

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October 1, 2017

K-Gr 2-Georgie McQuist has been double dared to enter the scariest place around, a shop filled with oddities and marvels that will fascinate young readers. There, he meets a trapped ghost tasked with inventorying the shop. Georgie isn't scared, though, so he promptly begins to help his new friend, checking off each item like so: "flutes that play a banshee's wails, armor made of dragon scales, talking owls complete with tree, a book on ancient alchemy." With the task complete, all that's left is to meet the owner. After introducing a moment of suspense, the author produces a satisfying twist and a funny conclusion-children will love what Georgie brings in for show-and-tell. The book is told in alternating poetic schemes: first limericks, then rhyming pairs, then limericks again. The illustrations are just as whimsical, with their layers upon layers of occult items. Despite the clutter of Miss Pustula Night's shop, India ink clearly distinguishes the objects from one another. This also proves to be a wise design choice because many of the spreads feature a different complementary palette of watercolors. Georgie himself always pops out, thanks to the assorted colors that make up his geeky adventurer's garb. VERDICT For children who always have their heads in the clouds, this title will whisk them away with its fantastical setting and fun rhymes.-Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

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