Polly Diamond and the Magic Book (Polly Diamond #1)

Gr 1-3--Polly Diamond has a great sense of adventure and an imaginative spirit: think Gooney Bird and Judy Moody rolled into one. Polly is about to get a new sibling. On the day her mother goes into labor, Polly receives a blank journal with amazing powers. Not only can the book write back to Polly, but it has the power to make her written hopes come true. The magical book turns her bedroom walls into an aquarium, makes her invisible, and transforms her little sister into a banana. All is not fun and magical games, however. Polly needs to resolve the problems that arise from too much magic. When the magical journal takes a very literal turn, Polly finds herself in a predicament that requires a good deal of careful writing to resolve. The energy of the writing keeps the pages turning, though the sophistication of some elements of the story may keep the audience rather limited or require an adult to read aloud and explain. Polly, as depicted on the cover and in interior illustrations, is brown-skinned, though her race and ethnicity are not mentioned in the text. Illustrations on nearly every page add visual appeal and will motivate new readers. VERDICT A fast-paced story full of magic. An additional selection for larger collections.--John Scott, Friends School of Baltimore

This breezy series kickoff from Kuipers (Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairy Tale) introduces a heroine with a delightfully outsize personality and celebrates the power of imagination and words. An inveterate list lover and aspiring author, Polly Diamond makes an ambitious to-do list at the start of what she senses will be a "Super-Fantastic Day," but she gets sidetracked when a mysterious package appears on her doorstep. It contains a blank book that responds to Polly's written comments and requests--literally. After she wishes that her bedroom was painted aquarium blue, fish appear swimming along glistening walls; Polly disappears from sight after writing that she likes how playing hide-and-seek makes her feel invisible; and her yearning for a "perfectly palatial" house produces a mansion complete with a waterslide and a crown-shaped bed. The book's magical power has some cornier repercussions, too: in an incident that would make Amelia Bedelia nod knowingly, instead of a club sandwich, Polly is served a wooden club between two slices of bread. As the narrator's interior monologue moves at a whirlwind pace, Toledano's spry cartoons amplify the story's exuberance, conveying Polly's imaginary and real lives with humor and affection. Ages 6-9. (May)