The second I read this title and saw the cover, I knew I had to read this one. I'm hoping for a little magic, some nonsense, adventure, and simply an enjoyable read. Let's see if this tale holds everything I hope it will or not.
THE MAGICIAN NEXT DOOR
by Rachel Chivers Khoo
Illustrated by Alice McKinley
Walker Books
Middle Grade Fantasy
144 pages
ages 7 to 9
A magical tale from the author of The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice, with gorgeous black-and-white illustrations throughout.“A charming story brimming with magic and wonder." Hannah Gold
Late one night a flying house crash-lands in ten-year-old Callie's garden. It is the home of magician Winnifred and all of her magical artefacts. Winnifred asks for Callie's help finding her lost Wanderdust – until she realizes it is Callie's sadness that is causing her malfunctioning magic. With Winnifred's most precious magical possessions at risk from malicious pixies and dangerous giants, can Callie and her friend Sam find the Wanderdust in time to save the magician?
MY TIDBITS
Whimsical fantasy mixes with gentle adventure to form a magical read, which lets imagination take flight.
Callie wishes she could just go back to London, but her father claims that his new job allows him more time to spend with her and relaxes life in general. But she misses her friends and her mom. While gazing out of the window one evening, a sudden noise is followed by the short appearance of a house standing upside down in the hard. A woman appears in the window, and then, all is gone, but a strange turtle-shelled shingle from the roof is on the lawn, and a huge crater has formed where the house once was. Her dad says it was a meteor, but she knows better. When a note asking for help appears in her room, the adventure begins.
This read snuggles up in the area of chapter book readers sliding into lower middle grade reads. The font is larger, the spacing generous, and the illustrations add even more lightness. The plot jogs along at a nice, steady pace and stays mostly action orientated. There are spouts of deeper, emotional moments as Callie misses her mother and friends, which do lean toward the middle grade direction more, but the rest of the tale is fairly straight-forward and playful to still embrace the chapter book reader end.
As for the story, it's cute, imaginative, and offers just enough tension to make it fun. It's never said why the parents separated or why Callie is living with her father and seems to have no visitation rights with her mum. Which as an adult, seemed odd, but young readers won't spend much thought on that. She's more concerned about the absence of her best friend, and while this does weave into the story as well as influence the plot, it also jabs in here and there to concentrate on the adventure. The neighbor boy adds personality, which gives great balance to the magician's, and the magic is simply enjoyable.
This book sets the stage for what could be an entire series of adventures, and I'm sure it would be much-loved.
And here she is...
Rachel Chivers Khoo was born in Belfast in 1990. She spent much of her childhood reading books from her local library. When she was nine, she promised an invisible tiger that one day she would write her own stories. Rachel studied English Literature at Trinity College, Oxford, and has a Masters in Creative Writing from Queen's University, Belfast. She worked in book publishing before writing her debut book, The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice. Rachel lives in London with her husband, two young sons and far too many books.
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