Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair (Polly Diamond Series #2)

by Alice Kuipers, Diana Toledano (Illustrator)

Overview

Polly and her magic book, Spell, have all kinds of adventures together because whatever Polly writes in Spell comes true! But when Polly and Spell join forces to make the school fair super spectacular, they quickly discover that what you write and what you mean are not always the same. Filled with the familiar details of home and school, but with a sprinkling of magic, this book is just right for fans of Ivy + Bean, Judy Moody, and Dory Fantasmagory, as well for aspiring writers, who, just like Polly, know the magic of stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452152738
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Series:	Polly Diamond Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alice Kuipers is the author of four novels and two picture books. Her work has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and selected as a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year. She lives in Saskatoon, Canada.
Diana Toledano divides her time between working as a freelance illustrator and teaching in museums. She lives in San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

For story lovers and storytellers” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

Gr 1–4—Polly Diamond is spirited, imaginative, and, in her own words, spectacular. She loves reading books, making lists, and writing in her special book called Spell. Spell has magical powers and can communicate with Polly by writing back to her and making whatever she writes down come true. However, Spell takes everything Polly writes quite literally. When the school holds a book-themed fair, Polly excitedly gets involved. With the help of Spell, Polly turns her classmates into fairies and dragons and other book characters. All are having a good time until Polly discovers that she has misplaced her magic book, and can't turn her friends back! Polly is eventually reunited with her beloved text, and everything is set right (though not without some silliness and wordplay first). This series installment includes several references to popular books and comes with a suggested reading list. VERDICT Recommended for readers with strong vocabularies who enjoy wordplay.—Vivian Ho, Port Washington Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2019-03-03

Polly and Spell return to shake up the school book fair after series opener Polly Diamond and the Magic Book (2018).

Polly Diamond's day is going to be spectacular: Today is the school fair, and it's all about books. The mixed-race girl's love of books and words has only grown since her magic book, Spell, appeared, and the pair have had several adventures, playing with words and stories as everything that Polly writes in Spell comes true. At school, what starts as one idea to make up for the broken popcorn machine soon becomes a game of punny attractions as a Pop-Open-A-Book-Corn stall, a Title-Tastic-Photo Booth, a Read-A-Coaster, and much more spill from Polly's imagination to Spell's pages and out over the fair. The fair is a massive hit, but after a magic carpet ride and turning a friend into a dragon (and her annoying babysitter into a squirrel), Polly realizes she has lost Spell. Alas, retracing her steps is not as simple as vanquishing a puddle monster. This second installment is full to the brim with the fun and tricky flexibility of language, which drives the small tempest of plot. Potential new vocabulary is called out with italics and defined, though clarity is hampered somewhat by the use of italics for emphasis with other words as well. Nevertheless, Toledano's spot art continues to add another dimension to Polly and Spell's world, giving less-experienced readers extra context clues and establishing Polly's dad as white and her mom as a woman of color.

For story lovers and storytellers. (list of books mentioned) (Fantasy. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews