This colourful and comic tale explores the consequences experienced by a young boy who does not say the magic word ‘please’. A creative way of teaching the importance of politeness, the book also cleverly weaves in scenarios that may resonate with young readers.
This humorous book tells the story of the hunt for the perfect name for a cat who has turned up on a little girl’s doorstep. It should be an easy task … but each page proves that there is much more to a name than just a sound. This book is a delight to read and had me going back through the pages to see what clues I may have missed along the way.
Wizard vs. Lizard is the first book in the Fred, Wizard in Training series, and it’s an enjoyable romp for 8- to 10-year-olds. In a family of talented wizards, Fred is an underdog in every way – his magic is so tragically lame, that the best he can do with it is wash dishes and tame worms. Poor Fred is desperate to prove his worth. That’s a situation that many kids can relate to.
Readers of Fred: Wizard in Training will be familiar with the unusual time Fred’s been having recently, what with the whole winning-a-magic-contest incident. Everyone is treating him like a hero, which would be great if he was any good at magic when under pressure. On the plus side, he now has weekly teatimes with Merlin, who is making him realise he isn’t too bad at magic–and life–after all. But just when he’s ready to get to work, a mystery lands in his lap.
It all starts with an invitation to a birthday party. The invitation bills it as the biggest, bestest, hattiest party of all time. Unworried by his hatless state at first, our young protagonist sets off but without success. He cannot find a hat anywhere. Undeterred, he cleverly finds a monkey with a hat to accompany him and off he goes. You would think this would be it, boy brings hat to party, end of story. The protagonist hadn’t reckoned, however, on a doorman who seems to have no other wish in life than to stop him entering his friend’s birthday party.
