by Michelle Meadows (Author) Sawyer Cloud (Illustrator)
A rollicking, rhyming, enchanted adventure featuring a young wizard in training in this easy Step 1 Reader.
Hocus Pocus! Maxie Wiz has magic homework! She must collect all the charms in her magic spell for it to work. Will she be able to follow the steps and rev up her magic wand? Follow this little wizard and her dragon on a whimsical treasure hunt. Predictable rhymes help support a successful reading experience, while bright, lively art brings this delightful story to life.
Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words. Rhymes and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story. For children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading.
WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online.
Gr 1-3--Maxie, a dark-skinned wizard, is ready to start her homework for magic class. She must find five charms, then follow the directions to cast a sparkly spell. She and her friend Dragon gather the charms, but when she attempts the spell, it falls flat. Discouraged, but persevering, she rereads the directions, finds her mistake, and tries again. With a hocus-pocus and a whirl of her wand, she finds glittery success! This Level 1 reader aligns with beginning reader best practices of a simple story, few words/lines per page, large font, and a wide variety of letter sounds/blends, but ends up more like a Level 2 reader due to little repetition and word lengths as in "homework" and "double-check." The narrative starts with a confusing first line: "Magic homework." Is the homework magic, or is the homework for a magic class? This may lead beginning readers to initial difficulty in following the story, but excellent context clues will get them back on track in short order. VERDICT Appropriate, but not glittering. Recommend to Level 2 readers.--Kate Davis
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.