Fifth Grade Magic

by Beatrice Gormley, Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrator)

Gretchen fully expects to be the star of the fifth-grade play. But just before the teacher picks the cast, Gretchen gets on her wrong side. Mrs. Sheppard doesn t give Gretchen any part at all! And she gives the starring role to Amy, who speaks her lines like a robot. Gretchen is desperate enough to try anything even to believe in magic. Gretchen's troubles are just beginning. So is the fun!

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1982

About the author

Born in Glendale, California, Beatrice grew up in Southern California. After graduating from Pomona College, she worked in publishing near San Francisco. There she met and married Robert Gormley, and they moved to Massachusetts. They have two daughters.
Since age 9 Beatrice had wanted to become a writer. But it wasn't until after her children were born that she really focused on her writing. In 1981 her first book, Mail Order Wings,was published. Since then she's written many popular novels and biographies for young people. Her most recent books are Second Lives, a novel of humans and other animals, and the biography Joe Biden: Our 46th President.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this so many times in like, fourth grade, I think!

Super cute story about a girl whose fairy godmother just can't seem to get her wishes right. Yet things turn out in the end, as the girl recognizes that getting exactly what she wanted may not be the best thing.

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scholastic Book Fair Throwback here!!

I got this from (you guessed it) ✨The Scholastic Book Fair✨ when I was in 5th Grade. It seemed like a good purchase. I mean, the main character was in 5th Grade... I was in 5th Grade... It's always encouraging when the Reader shares common ground with the MC, amiright? Especially when said Reader is at such a dangerous age when their reading habits could go either way (To be fair, this was looooong before there were such things as Smart Phones, Social Media, and Robolx to distract and corrupt young minds, but still... There was Oregon Trail and Paint Programs and Waldo's mysterious female counterpart, Carmen.). But I digress... I don't recall much about this book except a girl wanting to get a part in a school play and calling upon an accident-prone Fairy Godmother for help and then everything going awry, but I recall I loved it. A sucker for Magic and Mayhem even at the young and tender age of 10.

Funny thing: I've been wanting to revisit this since reading A Dash of Trouble, but not being able to recall the title (and therefore unable to locate a copy). The premise was similar: Well-intended magic gone wrong. Today a battered and much-loved copy of this book was donated to my library, and I excitedly snapped it up, eager to revisit Gretchen and her (perhaps misguided) quest to thwart Queen Bee Amy and land the starring role. I suppose the Librarian of the Universe kept this in mind and finally delivered me a copy. I love when stuff like this happens!

So you might be asking: Did it hold up?

Yes... and no.

The magic was there as well as the fun. But the deeper I got into the story the more I hated Gretchen. The girl was a jealous brat, plain and simple. And she pulled some VERY underhanded, VERY sneaky, and downright vindictive stuff in attempt to get get what she wanted. And she didn't care who she stepped on along the way. Girl has the makings of a True Diva and I hope she got something out of the Karmic slapback she got (although, personally I thought she got off waaaaay too easy). I suppose some books are better left in the Library of Distant Memory.

p.s. Poor Amy!! Probably took years if therapy before she was fit to rejoin society again!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a kid, re-read again for nostalgia. Gretchen draws an unflattering picture of her teacher Mrs. Sheppard. Mrs. Sheppard retaliates by squashing Gretchen’s long-held dream of starring in the school play and makes her a scenery manager to “utilize her artistic talent,” while giving the starring role to her favorite student and aspiring model Amy. Gretchen encounters a fairy godmother who muddles up wishes to star in the school play. Hijinks ensue.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes being the villain is the only way to be the hero.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a signed copy of this book. The author came to our school when I was a kid. I remember liking the book, but I don't remember anything else.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my nieces and nephews and asked them what rating to give this. The general consensus was 5 stars. (One did say 4.5 stars, but I was also told she is a harsh critic.) :) One said 5 stars for the funny parts.

My 87-year-old mom was in the room while I was reading it and there were times she said she needed to go to the bathroom, but didn't want to leave during the story because she wanted to find out what happened.

In some of the reviews, there was criticism because of how spoiled Gretchen was. And, yes, Gretchen was a bit spoiled, but overall, it was really cute.

[JKR · Rating 3 out of 5]

The edition I read had a different title: “Understudy: Magic”.

[Jennifer Hoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was a kid. It was part of the Especially for girls series. I really enjoyed it. It was funny and sad but had a happy ending!

[Super Piss Baby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a cute book for kids. Good art and a lesson learned. Main character is kind of an asshole though.

[Partridge Public]

Gormley, Beatrice