Maxwell's Magic Mix-up

From Publishers Weekly A bumbling magician named Maxwell wreaks havoc when he steps in at the last minute to entertain at Louise's birthday party. The disaster unfolds in a series of witty, staccato quatrains: "Party starts. Magician enters./ Hocus pocus! What a shock!/ Stumbles through his incantation.../ Turns Louise into a rock." In short order various guests are transformed into a bird, a cat, a pig and so on. Louise's furious father demands a quick fix, but ends up a broom ("I can tell my father's angry./ For a broom, he looks quite mean./ He is sweeping like a demon./ Never seen the floor so clean"). After the hapless Max accidentally conjures up a marching band, he throws in the towel and calls in his young nephew to set things right. The brisk, upbeat tempo of Ashman's (Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs) clever verses enhances the farcical tone of the proceedings. First-time illustrator Dunnick, meanwhile, matches the pace with boisterous cartoons, all bustle and panic. The expressions of his droll, bug-eyed characters range from deadpan to quizzical to alarmed, and many of the set pieces have a goofy gleefulness, as when the surprised-looking guests are suddenly restored to their original forms, the father still propped against a door and a girl crouched atop a bookcase. Frothy fun. Ages 4-8. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 1-3-Magic run amok plagues Louise's seventh birthday party as a substitute magician turns the birthday girl into a rock. Each subsequent word or gesture creates a catastrophic transformation of someone else. Ashman's quatrains include the exclamations of the guests and superbly accelerate the action; the final, suspenseful words on each page prepare readers for the newest calamity. Dunnick reveals Maxwell's disastrous magic with watercolor-and-pen cartoon drawings that highlight the fast-moving action and the humor of the performer's mistakes. The transformations retain some characteristics of the guests, such as identifiable party hats and clothes. Simple lines and a tiny dot of a pupil convey expression in the faces of the large-headed characters who run and fly across the pages. A funny read-aloud for any collection.