Grasshopper Magic

Magical Mix-Ups #3

by Lynne Jonell

   Chicken? Abner is not a chicken, no matter what his brother Derek says. But when it comes to giving a speech in front of the whole town, Abner is . . . well . . . he's more than a little nervous.

   Then his sister Tate has an idea--bravery lessons. And the first one? Eat a roasted grasshopper. But Abner forgot something important. There's magic in the ground under his family's house and grasshoppers hatch from eggs laid in the ground. So what, exactly, would happen if a kid ate a grasshopper that had been soaking up magic all year long? BOING!

   Lynne Jonell follows up her Minnesota Book Award finalist, Texas Bluebonnet Master List choice, and Junior Library Guild selection Hamster Magic with a third story of the Willow family's rowdy run-ins with mixed-up magic.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Magic

112 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2013

About the author

Lynne Jonell is an author (and occasional illustrator) of sixteen books for children, from picture books to novels for ages 8-12, all with an element of fantasy: magical hamsters, talking cats, tiny planes with a secret fuel, rodents with special powers, and more. Her novel Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat won the Minnesota Book Award; her latest book, The Sign of the Cat, is a swashbuckling sea adventure. Coming in 2018 is Far Sight, Deep Time, a time-travel novel set at her ancestral castle in Scotland.

Her books have received starred reviews in Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Sesame Street Parents, and have been published in nine languages. She teaches writing at the Loft Literary Center, is married and has two sons, and lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/lynnej...

Reviews

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun beginning reader. Written for kids who are transitioning from basic beginning readers, and picture books, this book's story is one that simplistic, engaging and at times silly. Mixed with a little bit of magic, and some adventure, this story is one doesn't require any over thinking in terms of the story. That is what makes this story great for a transitional beginning readers. This simple, short story, includes illustrations that will keep young readers invested in this story. This book would work great for reading groups in 1st and 2nd grade.

REVIEW http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2018/0...

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for a 'creepy crawlies' challenge.
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Sort of fun adventure, if your child prefers light reading. But beware; it is racist. I doubt that the author intends to be, but her portrayal of Mrs. Delgado is deeply unfortunate.

I did like it when the littlest sister (of four! siblings) insightfully reminded the others that "It's hard to say no to a grown-up lady who smiles at you."

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing, fun, bit gory and disgusting, need to read the others in the series!

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Abner said that he would like to help his town, he didn't know he was volunteering to represent his ancestor, General Abner Willow, in the town's parade. He hates being the center of attention. The next day, a seamstress comes to sew Abner's uniform. She sees a jar of grasshoppers that the children caught the night before. Claiming that grasshoppers are wonderful to eat, she cooks them up so that the Willow children can try them. Tate and Abner eat quite a few. Before they know it, they are bouncing up to the housetop and the high branches of the trees. The grasshoppers were magical! To make things worse, the seamstress takes some grasshoppers home to her two year-old son. Somehow, the Willow children must save the little boy from the magic. Also, Abner and Tate have to figure out how to use up all of their grasshopper magic before the parade!

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book for readers in 1st-2nd grade who are transitioning from picture books to chapter book format. It is very simple and one must not look to critically at the events as they are simple and lack substance. This does mean that a beginning reader will enjoy reading it as it does not require a lot of thinking to understand story and they can then spend time enjoying the printed word and feel as though they have really accomplished something while enjoying reading a story about four children to work to solve a problem of become grasshoppers in the sense of how they get around. Teachers will find it a good one to have children retell. It lends itself well to class book discussions, even to writing a reader's theater.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute and fun chapter book for young readers. It put me in mind, a little bit, of Eager's magic books, but this is much lighter. There are only fleeting elements of danger and lots of silly fun. There's also barfing, which I gather is still big with young boys. Although the art in my ARC was marked NOT FINAL, I really liked the sketchy nature of it. I'll keep my eye out for the earlier two books in this series but I don't feel like I'm missing anything I needed for this one. This would also make a good bedtime read-aloud.

I got an ARC of this at ALA.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abner is going to do a speech in front of the entire town. His sister Tate has the idea of doing a test of bravery. The first one is to eat a grasshopper. When Abner eats it, he actually sort of likes it. His sister Tate has some too. Together, they finish the whole bowl of grasshoppers. Later, they find out that they have the ability to jump super high! To know what will happen next, read this book to find out!
This book is amazing! I love it! You should read this book.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

its about Abner has to give a speech in front of the whole town and he is a little nervous so Tate has some bravery lessons the first one is to eat a roasted grasshopper.so when he eats it he starts jumping like a grasshopper so they have to use up all the magic that's in him before he makes his speech.

[Shenek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my boys and we all loved it. I requested that our library buy the first two as well. The characters were very well developed for an early reader chapter book. The magic was quirky and fun and just perfect for 6-10 year olds.

[Angela Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are really good for the child just entering the world of chapter books. This was probably my favorite in the series so far, I loved the image of the hopping around like grasshoppers and the element of heroism at the end.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really, really could not get into this yawn-worthy 2nd-3rd grade book club pick. All four of the main characters sounded the same, and the whole premise hinged on thinly veiled racism. Funny-talking brown people and the funny things they eat, am I right?

[pati · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you could hop as high as a house? Abner is quite the hero and he has the sword to prove it!

[Laura5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this magical series by Minnesotan Lynne Jonnell.

Get started with the first book Hamster Magic.

Suggest this series to your fans of Magic Tree House.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This over the top magic story will appeal to young readers who won’t question the believability factor.