Author: Sally Gardner
Illustrator: Sally Gardner
© Date: 2000/2001 Great Britain (2008 US)
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Pages: 118 / 92
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, most page layouts have an illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 6-8 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No, the other book when you flip it is the bonus
Summary from Book: Ruby Genie may be able to read Cinderella, but it would be far better if she could actually turn pumpkins into carriages. Her parents, after all, were world-famous magicians. But Ruby can’t seem to do any magic at all, or so she thinks. Then she begins to get smaller…and smaller…and smaller—small enough to fit inside a handbag. And that’s when her adventures really begin.
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Thomas Top can fly. And it’s all because, when a fairy offered him a birthday wish, “flying” was the first idea to pop into his head. Now Thomas is the most popular kid in school. He should be happy, so why isn’t he? With some help from Mr. Vinnie, a grown-up who can also fly (thanks to a special boyhood birthday wish!), Thomas is about to have the adventure of a lifetime.
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this awhile ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: After reading Operation Bunny (review), I went looking for another Sally Gardner book. These ones did not have the same humor or charm. They were alright. One had a beautiful message about having magic within yourself. The other had an intriguing premise of people growing up to be responsible and forgetting the magic that comes with having fun, but also not being able to see the magic of the world around them. The two stories do cross paths in a small way, which is fun. Enough time has passed that I don’t remember these ones the best, but they have some fun ideas that a reader may really enjoy.
Items of Interest:
- Ruby’s parents had no interest in her, she was a girl and showed no magical talents. Ruby spent all of her time with her nanny. When her parents mysteriously disappeared, Ruby wound up at the only boarding school that would take her. The school was not nice or kind to its students. Ruby winds up leaving with a man that pretends to be her uncle. That man is actually trying to get Ruby to unlock the magical mysteries of her mother’s wand and her father’s genie lamp. Ruby winds up mysteriously shrinking over time. When Ruby could not help him, he throws her out the window in a bag (she was small enough to fit at that point). A kind woman, Aunt Hat, takes home a lovely looking bag and discovers Ruby. Aunt Hat and Ruby create a very popular magic gig, but the real magic is that Aunt Hat and Ruby find love for each other.
- Thomas is visited by the Fat Fairy for his ninth birthday, he makes a wish to fly. His father prides himself on having an ordinary family and does not see that Thomas can do anything out of the ordinary. Actually, no one really seems to notice Thomas flying except for other children. Thomas gets suspended for being disruptive at school because he is doing something that excites the other children, but the headmaster is not sure what. Thomas’s mother admits that she sees him flying and wishes that she could do the same. Thomas tells her about his flying friend, Vinnie. His mother invites Vinnie over and he takes her flying. Turns out that Thomas’s father used to be different and out of the ordinary, but wanted so much for Thomas when he was born that he tried to be the most responsible grownup. Thomas’s father winds up being visited by the fat fairy and makes a wish to be able to have fun. Life changed in the household after that. In the end, the Fat Fairy tells Thomas that people grow up and forget all sorts of things, including things that they wished for.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- A few other books seem to be in this Magical Kids/Children series, some are formatted as combined flip books, but those same stories also appear to be formatted as single stories