THE LITTLE MAGICIAN

Realism and magic combine in this brisk story of sibling struggle.

Sophia works actual magic, filling the water pitcher with frogs and turning her mother’s plants blue. But when her little brother commits the serious crime of tearing pages out of her spellbook, she can’t be soothed by her mother, who (while repairing the book) sensibly reminds her that Hugo is just too young to be responsible. Instead, Sophia grabs her wand and turns him into a full-size donkey (wearing Hugo’s glasses). The donkey promptly does more damage to Sophia’s things than Hugo (wearing diapers, at least) ever has. Before she can undo the spell, the donkey bites her wand in half. When the fire department arrives to take the animal away, Sophia recalls every one of Hugo’s good points, including his kisses and snuggles. And she’s able to use her taped-together wand to bring Hugo back! A few days later, Hugo’s first word turns out to be “abwacadabwa”—unexpectedly transforming their grandmother into an elephant (sporting Granny’s pink specs and beads). Graux’s cartoonishly distorted faces might distance the characters (Sophia appears to have mumps, as well as jug ears and bug eyes), but the pictures are lively, the glasses connections are clever, and the subdued but varied colors add realism. Sophia and her family are pictured with dark hair and medium-toned skin; Sophia has a diverse group of school friends.

Sometimes we don’t know the value of what we have until we risk losing it.