Silver the Silly Sorcerer

Silver the Silly Sorcerer by Candice Lemon-Scott, illustrated by Janet Wolf (New Frontier Publishing)

PB RRP $12.95

ISBN – 9781921928499

Reviewed by Emma Cameron

Silver has only one chance left to pass the Eggs test at school or he’ll have to join the circus as a magician. He can easily make a mouse disappear and reappear, but his test requires he make it reappear as something else. When making the mouse disappear, he accidently makes his teacher vanish too. School is closed as all the other teachers try to work out how to reverse this.

Silver is deemed to have failed the test and is packed off to a failing circus forthwith. As he farewells his family, his sister Star gives him a magic card that he can rub if he needs to get back home in an emergency. Silver thinks life as a circus magician will be awful and, given that his first job is cleaning out the animal cages, he could be right. Worse still, the circus master doesn’t like the fact that Silver’s snake, Slither, is a back chatter.

When Silver does put on his magic act he is so bad it turns out to be seen by the audience as comical, thus earning him the name that matches the book’s title. It also means the circus begins to draw great crowds. Though things always get to a point where Silver is incapable of fixing them, Slither the snake steps in to do so and all turns out fine. But what of the missing teacher?

Well, as the story winds up in dramatic fashion it not only reveals a surprising fact about how the circus acquired its elephant but also has Silver’s teacher reappear as part of the twist. And just as they are at their final and most dangerous point of the tale, Silver rubs the magic card given to him by Star. They immediately return home safely and Silver receives a pass in the Eggs test. Hooray!

Like all Little Rockets titles, this has well-spaced text and colourful illustrations to break up the chapters, thereby encouraging young readers just stepping into chapter books to give it a go. The high quality paper used in production of this series, for readers aged 7+, will prove excellent for very likely repeated library borrowing.

Hubert and the Magic Glasses

Hubert and the Magic Glasses by Candice Lemon-Scott, illustrated by Joe Spellman (New Frontier Publishing)

PB RRP $12.95

ISBN – 9781921928246

Reviewed by Emma Cameron

When the story opens, a nervous eleven year old Hubert is in the change room taking his time to put on his soccer gear. He loves soccer but for some reason he seems to play worse each week, not better like his team mates. When it becomes apparent that he needs glasses, Hubert instantly goes into denial. He doesn’t want to let his team down but he doesn’t want to be different either.

Readers will understand his dilemma but will also be pleased to see that he gets no say in whether he will or won’t wear glasses to play. They’ll also delight in seeing how stunned he is to discover that the glasses help. His vastly improved play takes the Able Ants to the grand final. When his glasses smash before the big game the optometrist fixes them with magic but stresses to Hubert that it is he who much control the magic, not the other way around.

Hubert is surrounded by helpful and caring family and friends but the story also shows how it is he who is really able to help himself the most by overcoming his own low self-confidence. It’s a great lesson in how skill will only develop if you keep at it and that simply giving it all you can is sometimes the best magic there is.

Like other titles in the Little Rockets series this book contains well-spaced text and colourful illustrations to help break up the nine chapters, thereby encouraging young readers finding their feet in the world of chapter books to give it a go. The high quality paper used in production of this series, for readers aged 7+, will prove excellent for very likely repeated library borrowing.