The Magician's Hat

January 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-New England Patriots wide receiver Mitchell has written a serviceable paean to reading as a means of making your (career) dreams come true. Suitably cheerful cartoon illustrations show a diverse group of children and families at a magic show at the library, with psychic reader's advisory as the grand finale. One by one, children from the audience reach into the magician's top hat for books, each of which is somehow about that child's dream career, thus proving that "books are magic." The lanky white magician even convinces a skeptical kid who claims to want to be a dog when he grows up: deep down the boy wants to be an astronaut, so the magic hat gives him a book about space. There are missed opportunities to promote the joy of reading for its own sake, as well as to encourage perseverance when reading does not feel like magic. Nevertheless, the amusing story encourages children to see the library as a fun place and to see books as a source of inspiration and support for their passions. VERDICT A good-natured addition, if a bit simplistic about the benefits of reading.-Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017
New England Patriot and literacy advocate Mitchell proves to have a touch of magic as an author as well as on the field.It's Family Fun Day at the library, and families of many sizes, constellations, and skin tones are participating. Amid book scavenger hunts and storytelling, a magician arrives. He is white and lanky, sporting a purple polka-dot vest and a bright yellow ascot. But most importantly, he has a very large, mysterious hat. He tells the children how he came to Family Fun Day when he was younger and read his very first book about magic in the library. Turning the pages and getting lost in the words inspired him to become a magician. He realized that it wasn't just about spells and potions, but that books themselves are magical. Three children reach into the hat and find books about their future professions--Amy, a white girl, is a dentist; Matt, a bespectacled black boy, is a football player; and Ryan, a white boy, is an astronaut. The magician then turns the hat to readers, asking, "What are your dreams?" Previously self-published, the work gets a new look from Lew-Vriethoff's bustling library and bright swirls of magic and bookish motivation. As an entry in the books-are-awesome genre, it's mostly distinguished by the author's clear belief in his message.Perhaps youngsters who think they are more interested in football than reading will take the message to heart. (Picture book. 3-6)

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December 15, 2017
Grades 1-3 Message-driven but blessedly free of the standard-issue self-referential story line, this outing highlights the value of books in setting career goals. Mitchell, a professional football player and active literacy advocate, sets his tale at a library Family Fun Day. When a magician invites children to announce what they want to be, before reaching into his hat, each pulls out a book in the relevant fieldeven Ryan, who tries a trick of his own by claiming that he wants to be a dog, but gets a volume on stars and planets that reflects his real yen to become an astronaut. The desires that are within you bring out the magic in these books, the magician concludes. Follow your dreams and they will take you wherever you want to go. Lew-Vriethoff's cheery biblio bustle, replete with diverse sets of parents and children sharing books in a spacious, modern library, culminates in a view of the magician turning his big, seemingly bottomless hat toward readers with a (perhaps the) question: What are your dreams? (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)