Magic Crystal?

Marvin Redpost #8

by Louis Sachar, Amy Wummer (Illustrator)

This chapter book in Newbery Honor–winning and bestselling author Louis Sachar’s Marvin Redpost series is getting magical…or is it?
 
Marvin Redpost has a girlfriend—not a real girlfriend, just a girl who is a friend. And Casey Happleton is no ordinary girl. She lives in an old firehouse and she has a magic crystal! She wants to share the crystal with Marvin. Could the crystal really be magic? Or is Casey putting her own spell on Marvin?
 
Hilarious and relatable, Marvin Redpost is perfect for kids who love to bond with quirky characters like Junie B. Jones and George Brown, Class Clown.

Genres: Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Chapter Books, Juvenile

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Louis Sachar (pronounced Sacker), born March 20, 1954, is an American author of children's books.

Louis was born in East Meadow, New York, in 1954. When he was nine, he moved to Tustin, California. He went to college at the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 1976, as an economics major. The next year, he wrote his first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School .

He was working at a sweater warehouse during the day and wrote at night. Almost a year later, he was fired from the job. He decided to go to law school. He attended Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

His first book was published while he was in law school. He graduated in 1980. For the next eight years he worked part-time as a lawyer and continued to try to write children's books. Then his books started selling well enough so that he was able to quit practicing law. His wife's name is Carla. When he first met her, she was a counselor at an elementary school. She was the inspiration behind the counselor in There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom . He was married in 1985. Hisdaughter, Sherre, was born in 1987.

Reviews

[Pekke]

This review is from Tommy, age 8.

I read this book for school. I think people with lots of imagination would like this book. The reason is pretending that something is magic is very imaginative. I think a joker would like this book because it is very funny. For example, joking around that a rock was hit by lightning is very funny. But for me I like the book.

[Philip]

That Louis Sachar is something else. In the book he introduces kids to the idea that English can be troublingly ambiguous. He shows the problems with assuming, and there's a fantastic dialogue sequence that takes place in between the protagonist and facial expressions of his friend/future wife.

So, what'd you guys think?

El: well I think it's a great book. I really like the part when Marvin Redpost and Casey wished no one would be sick that day.

Poppy: I like the part where they wished for cookies.

Gwen: I like the part where Marvin wished for them to get married when they grow up.

Dad: So it was a good book?

Gwen: Yep.

El: Can you add one more thing? I basically like all the parts before and after Marvin wished for Casey to be quiet.

Dad: All right, it's in there. Let's go read it.

[Maggie]

I'm at the end of the series and I wish there was another book. This is a really easy read. My little brother, who is 5, loves these books. But I enjoyed reading them too.

[Yolanda Smith]

This has definitely been a favorite series for my six-year-old, and she loved the ending.

[BookeryBliss]

A quick and funny read about a boy who wished a girl to "shut-up" using a magic crystal.
It follows with a silly silent treatment and the story ends with a good closing. A very easy read for primary grade children.

[Ethan]

It's cool how a rock got got struck by lightning and turned into magic and so anyone could wish anything they wanted and their wish would come true.

[Catherine Woodman]

Louis Sachar is a great writer for mid-grammar school age kids--The Marvin Redpost series is a great example of his talent at accessible writing and reading for this age group

[Amy]

I wish Mr. Sachar will write a new Marvin Redpost book. I have a magic crystal, so it has to come true.

[Wendy]

Fantastic series for 8 and 9 yr olds. My third graders loved this series. Mr. Sachar oh how you can touch children with your work!

[Josh]

Captures everything that’s great about the Marvin Redpost series: It’s fundamentally good-natured, laugh-out-loud funny, and not all that predictable. Indeed, the magic crystal is a little bit of a red herring; what starts as a weird story about a supernatural talisman very quickly becomes a story about the strange, tense, sweet, awkward relationship between Marvin and a little girl in his class, who he may or may not “like.” I think the book conveys the complexities of childhood passions pretty well, and contains at least one line that made my five-year-old son say “Ewwwwww!”

[Naomi]

This was one of my most favorite Marvin Redpost books so far. I like the idea of living in an old firehouse and sliding down the pole. But whoa, four stories high, that's a lot of house. Yes, I agree, Marvin, seems like a "mansion." I liked the funny, confusing parts about knowing your phone number, and the wishes were pretty adventurous too. The ending also made me smile.

[Melissa Namba]

A cute book where Casey and Marvin are doing that elementary school thing that you do when you like someone. His friends are equally immature. I'm always a fan of Sachar, who fully embraces the embarrassing and immature parts of childhood.

[Katrina]

Fun to read with my 7 y.o.

[Sid]

3 and half stars. Was a good read.

[Nicole]

A great conclusion to the series

(though I'm still salty Nick and Spencer didn't get any comeuppances. Bitterness.)

[Dain Song]

This is my favorite Marvin Redpost books. I was six when I read it, but I didn't understand Casey's attitude but now I do. I realize she acted that way to get Marvin's attention. It was cute too.

[Kim Belnap]

Fun read with my reading group at work. Kids enjoyed it.

[Ciera Legue]

That was absolutely awesome and i loved that plot twist at the end

[Tim Robinson]

Weird. Almost as weird as Wayside School.

[Rachel]

Decent kids’ book

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer]

The final installment in the Marvin Redpost series is certainly cute and funny. Casey Applegate has probably emerged as my favorite character in the series. It proves so much fun to read about Marvin’s first begrudging crush, but I still wish that the author might have included more set up for this turn of events earlier on. I also cannot help but wish for more of a conclusion to the series as a whole.

[Dolly]

This is the eighth and last book in the Marvin Redpost series. The story shows Marvin testing the powers of a magic crystal with a girl in his class. His relationship with her is the focus of the story.

The story is short and entertaining and I love that the author shows Marvin as a very real character who is somewhat afraid to admit that he likes a girl. I loved the ending - it was very sweet.

We enjoyed reading this story together and we are a little sad to say goodbye to Marvin and his family and friends.

[Kathleen]

Although I'm not crazy about them, these books are pretty all right for getting young readers who need a series to motivate them. Marvin is a very appealing little guy, and I like Sachar's style quite a bit.

[Mandy Robek]

A story about friends and silly kid ideas. Students will have to stop and think about dialogue and what characters are really trying to say. Humor -ish. An older series but this class is reading it up.

[Alyssa]

Casey is a friend of Marvin's. Marvin likes her a lot, but she's not his girlfriend. Casey has a magic crystal and wants to share it with Marvin. She told him that it used to be a regular rock, but it got struck by lightning! Marvin isn't too sure what to believe.

[Evelyn]

i loved it

[Evelyn]

i loved it

[Kellie]

A cute, quick and fun read-aloud with some simple subtle lessons. Very nice and short (around an hour - maybe hour and a half) to enjoy reading with the family.

[Lauren]

For a family read aloud, I rate this book four stars! A cute little book that only takes an hour to read!

[Julisa Guzman]

i like thiss bookk....i like all the books of marvin redpost...