All the Colors of Magic

by Valija Zinck

Overview

"An exciting new voice among the world's storytellers." -- Cornelia FunkeA heartfelt, adventure-filled, and charming novel about a peculiar girl who embarks on a journey to find her father, the wizard.

Penelope has always been different from other children. Her hair has been gray since she was born. It rains every year on her birthday. And she knows what her mother is going to say before the words even come out of her mouth. But one day, Penelope wakes up with sparkling red hair and her mother confesses the truth: Her father is not only still alive, he's a wizard! Penelope has inherited his powers, and must embark on a journey to find him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338550894
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	12/03/2019
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	598,633
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Valija Zinck has worked as a dancer, actor and musician for 15 years, mostly with children and teenagers. She lives in Berlin, Germany.

Editorial Reviews

"An exciting new voice among the world's storytellers" — Cornelia Funke

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

Gr 4–6—This imaginative middle grade fantasy, a German import, introduces 10-year-old Penelope who lives with her mom and grandma in "a little village, right next to a swamp forest." She discovers that her unusual abilities are rooted in her hair, which has been gray since she was born—until the day she wakes up and it's a boisterous red. It turns out her magic is inherited from her long-absent father. Angry when she learns the truth of his abandonment, she resolves to find and confront him, leading her on an adventure in which she must rescue him from villainous captors instead. She does this with the help of her cat, an invisibility device, and her own ingenuity. The tidy ending satisfies. VERDICT This standalone fantasy is perfect for fans of Cornelia Funke and those not yet ready for hefty, multivolume series.—Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, Brighton, MI

School Library Journal

2019-09-29
A 10-year-old girl with "hearing-before-hearing" discovers the truth about her powers and her absentee dad.

Penelope loves living with her mother and Granny Elizabeth in their little house on the outskirts of the swamp forest. In their seemingly all-white village, Penelope stands out: She has gray hair, she smells like fire, and she sometimes answers questions she hasn't yet been asked. But one evening, after Penelope's mother has spent several weeks in the hospital following a bad traffic accident, just before falling asleep, Penelope notices she doesn't smell fire—and when she wakes up, her hair is bright red. Penelope learns her mother has been painting her hair gray with some kind of paste to protect her, and it has something to do with her long-vanished father. He also had red hair, and he could do a little magic. But he walked out on them when she was a baby, and now he's stopped sending money. Slightly surreal touches that include a talking road keep the action light. Penelope's concern with color extends not just to the magic of hair color or morose gray envelopes, but to the everyday: her house, speckled red and green like a dragon; a blue shoelace; a bottle-green dress. It's a cheerfully childlike perspective, adding warmth even when Penelope is angry or frightened.

The charming, comforting, and enjoyable tale of a magical girl discovering her (family and hair) roots. (Fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews