Wizarding for Beginners

For Beginners #2

by Elys Dolan

Best friends Dave and Albrecht are going undercover. They must disguise themselves as wizards to enter the notoriously secretive Wizarding Guild, in order to free their friends and stop the most evil wizard of them all - Terrence. Luckily, they have the perfect book to help them on their quest, the amazing, the brilliant, Wizarding for Beginners!

Genres: Middle Grade

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2018

About the author

Elys Dolan grew up in a part of England that consists almost entirely of trees and cows, and she was named after a department store in Wimbledon. She’s never let either of these things hold her back and recently graduated from the Cambridge School of Art. She was awarded second place in the Macmillan Prize and was also short-listed for the Waterstone’s Picture This Prize. She lives in Cambridge, England.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave and Albrecht are back and this time we are going to wizards, magic, porridge, and tons of German again.

A big thanks to my sweet hubby for giving me this for Christmas. I have been hoping to read this one for ages as I just ADORED the first book.

This was just so much fun to read and to see Dave and Albrecht again. We begin the book with a bookclub where the various characters are reading a very cough interesting book. After that kidnappings happen and our duo is off to find the big bad wizard named Terrence and from that moment the book really starts with tons of laughs, porridge, and glossiness of hair.

I loved the various pages from books we got in this one. We read about rules, about wizarding sports, about wizards, about history, and more. It was all very interesting to read and I loved that it was added. Though it makes me happy that I am not a wizard… all those rules are just ridiculous how can one live their lives when it is filled with all those rules? Then again, the big bad wizard seems to love them, which was no surprise to me, but it was something that made the other wizards not like him.

I am so not a fan of the big bad wizard, he is just so annoying and frustrating. I get he wants to be popular, but maybe he should stop being so anal about everything and such. He is making life very hard for people and dragging animals out from their habitat to make them talk… eh. Not winning popularity points. We do find out why he is kidnapping animals and while I don’t approve, I do understand his reasoning a bit better (then again, he should have known from the start hat some animals just never would work.. no matter what).

I love Brian and their powers. Man, to have porridge powers that is just the best, I would quite like that.

The wizard sport? Loved it! Would love to participate or even being in the audience and see what kind of strange things get summoned.

I also love Albrecht and his German stuff. It gave some extra spice to the story and it was just perfect. I am also glad that, despite his big ego, he cares about Dave and other people.

Dave was also perfect, I love how easily he goes on adventures with Albrecht, and how these two are just the best of friends.

The ending was wonderful and boy I was happy! There were some twists and turns in the final battle that I didn’t see coming (and some that were obvious). I do hope that we get more Dave/Albrecht, because I am definitely not done with these two.

Of course, like the other books, this one is delightfully illustrated to the brim, bringing the story even further to life.

Recommended!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Christi M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun never stops with Dave, who is now part of a book club, and Albrecht – Dave’s “trusty steed and life coach.”

In Wizarding for Beginners, Dave and Albrecht are at their book club when a post card is delivered to Albrecht. It is from his family, but is also a sad moment for Albrecht because ever since a wizard put a spell on him giving him the ability to talk he has never been able to communicate with his family. One thing leads to another and soon Dave and Albrecht are off to become wizards themselves, but there are so, so, so many rules about who can be a wizard and what a wizard must or must not do that it becomes a bit too much. What’s even better is when they begin to find all the ways their fellow wizards are either following or not following the rules.

As in the first book of the series, Knighthood for Beginners, there is a “Where are they now” section at the end, which is probably my favorite part because it makes me laugh at all the crazy stuff they do after the story. The end also include a German to English glossary to help with any of those phrases Albrecht says every once in a while. After all who doesn’t want to learn how to say “my bottom” in German (mein hintern).

I love all Dave and Albrecht’s sillyness and the absurd situations they find themselves in. Sometimes a little silly is what we all need. However, I also found the story didn’t connect with me as much as I wish it had, but still it’s a fun book to read through. The book is full of pictures, but the version I read was an advanced copy and so not all the picture were complete, which made me sad since I know from the previous book that they offer quite a bit to the story adding more humor and context of what is going on around Dave and Albrecht. But as I mentioned, my version is not the published version and I am completely confident that any pictures will be seen in the final version, but am noting it here to indicate what I was able to review upon.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Printers Row Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious and, like the first, has some sly messaging about fairness and letting people be who they are. The hybrid graphic novel format makes it perfect for less confident elementary school readers.

[Heather Daughrity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wizarding for Beginners is an illustrated chapter book for the upper elementary crowd. It is the third book in a series, after Knighthood for Beginners and Royalty for Beginners.

The story revolves around a diminutive dragon named Dave and his friend Albrecht the talking goat. Albrecht can talk because of a spell cast upon him in the first book by the wizard Terrence the Terrible. Terrence is back in this book, kidnapping all the talking animals and hiding them away for nefarious purposes.

To rescue their friends, Dave and Albrecht (whose speech is peppered with German words, glossary in the back) must infiltrate the Guild of Wizards with it’s many rules. For example:

Absolutely no girls allowed
Beards required
Everything stops for meals
Hats required
No running, except on Thursdays when running is required
No shoes on the carpet unless it’s a full moon

After proving their worth as wizards and infiltrating the castle, they make their plans:

“We shall meet in the corridor at midnight to search for the animals! It shall be very sneaky, secret, and kind of like a slumber party.” – Albrecht

Well, of course nothing goes to plan. The friends get separated, Albrecht gets into trouble, Dave defeats his enemies by being kind to them, a wizard appears who is not quite what they seem, and lots of porridge is involved. In the end, all turns out well, Terrence the Terrible gets his comeuppance, and the Guild of Wizards gets a much needed overhaul.

This is a fun book, with little lessons of self-acceptance tucked away here and there, dangers that are not too scary, lots of humor, and charming pictures. It’s just the kind of thing my eight year old loves and I highly recommend this book and the entire series to kids and parents alike.

Wizarding for Beginners is written and illustrated by Elys Nolan and published by Silver Dolphin Books. It releases in paperback on May 26, 2020.

I received a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so first, to be fair, my eight year-old read this to me and he struggled with some of the German words. He was also calling Albrecht "Albert" for most of the book until I happened to glance at the book and notice the spelling.

It was cute, and definitely funnier for and geared towards younger minds. My son thought many of the silly jokes were some of the most hilarious things he had every heard, while I found many of them only mildly amusing. So, maybe I should give it 4 stars because my son really enjoyed it?

Anyway, the messaging of the book seemed muddled at first but did redeem itself towards the end with a good message that people should be able to be themselves. Girls can also be wizards. Wizard don't all need to have beards. Etc. But it took a lot of my concentration to get there. Probably this book was not geared toward 45 year-olds who no longer have the humor of an 8-10 year old.

But it was definitely a quick read and my son has read through it many times and he loves it and insisted on reading it to me for that reason. So... 3.5 stars?

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genauso skurril, liebevoll und absurd wie Band 1. Eine wahre Freude von einem Kinderbuch, das ganz nebenbei feministische und queer-freundliche Botschaften einflechtet. Warum ist diese Reihe nicht bekannter? Sie hätte es wirklich verdient.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok.
It reminded me abit of tom gates.

[Pineapplw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super funny!!!
It gives a whole different perspective on wizards. I love all the hilarious rules.
It's just a really good book.

[Laura Feldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humerous little book! A great quick read for kids through to adults