Sadie's Story

May 4, 2015
In this charming series opener from Heppermann (Poisoned Apples) and Koertge (Coaltown Jesus), nine-year-old Sadie is resigned to spending four long days lonely and bored when her two best friends go on vacation without her. Instead, she meets a delightful, friendly witch who has moved into the playhouse in her backyard. Despite the pointy hat and bubbling cauldron, Ms. M is no typical witch—her brand of magic is more natural and inspirational than built around potions and spells. “The most powerful magic is something anyone can do,” she tells Sadie. “It’s called paying attention.” Under Ms. M’s tutelage, Sadie learns the fine art of birding and realizes that her surroundings abound with marvelous creatures and creations. Marcero’s occasional b&w illustrations play into the light, fun tone, and Ms. M’s understated motivational techniques hit just the right note of subtle encouragement as Sadie looks inside herself and at the world around her to find a different kind of magic. Ages 6–10. Author’s agent: (for Heppermann) Tina Wexler, ICM; (for Koertge) Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates. Illustrator’s agent: Danielle Smith, Red Fox Literary.

April 15, 2015
Sadie's sad when her two best friends go on vacation without her until a witch moves into her backyard playhouse and shows Sadie a new way to see the world. Investigating smoke rising from her playhouse, Sadie discovers Ms. M., a Sadie-size witch, inside stirring a cauldron. Though Ms. M. looks witchy-black, smock-style dress, pointy hat-the cauldron contains soup, and the finding spell she casts to locate her friend Ethel, now a yellow warbler, proves to be the hokey-pokey. When the spell fails, they head to the park to search for Ethel, an effort that involves close observation of avian park denizens like blue jays, orioles, song sparrows, and cardinals. Ms. M. introduces Sadie to "life lists" and other birding practices and shares entertaining tales of the witching life including bowling-league matches against the Mid-City Shamans and the praise she garnered in Omens & Augury class. (Ms. M. herself is a cipher: is she a witch or even real?) Charming illustrations slyly echo the humor. However, the adult-oriented satire, simultaneously lauding and ridiculing the green lifestyle (Mom interprets the whole world through yoga; Dad uses fruit smoothies as creative aids), may confuse young readers and undermine the reality-focused "notice the amazing natural world around you" environmental message. Adults will enjoy the witty non sequiturs, but the story, marred by conflicting themes, never quite coheres. (birding tips, resources) (Fantasy. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2015

Gr 2-4-Sadie's two best friends, Jess and Maya, are going on vacation without her. She is miserable thinking about what she will do while they are away when she discovers that something magical is occuring in her very own backyard. A witch has moved into her playhouse. The witch is searching for her friends Ethel, a bird, and Onyx, a cat. Sadie vows to help the witch find her friends and learns about different types of birds along the way. This is a delightful adventure with humorous characters that will keep the interest of young readers. Charming black-and-white illustrations add to the overall mood of the story. VERDICT The first in a new series, fans of "Ivy and Bean" (Chronicle) and "Clementine" (Disney-Hyperion) will enjoy this new addition.-Megan McGinnis, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Grades 2-4 Kicking off this new early chapter book series, a backyard witch cures a young girl's loneliness and boredom. Left behind when her two best friends go on vacation, nine-year-old Sadie is comforted and entertained by a friendly witch who appearspoof!in her backyard playhouse. Time passes quickly as Ms. M, the snaggle-toothed witch, enlists Sadie in her hunt for her missing cat and her best friend, accidentally transformed into a yellow warbler. Ms. M shares her knack for identifying birds and, upon her departure, leaves Sadie with a bird guide and some sensible advice: The most powerful magic is . . . paying attention. The sprightly third-person narrative moves along with plenty of dialogue and humor, especially as the witch often says and does the unexpected. Mild suspense is supplied by Sadie's parents' determination to sell the playhouse. Vignettes and occasional full-page gray-scale images support the text and add interest. A helpful afterword invites readers to become twitchers (birders) themselves. An appealing package with sequels promised.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Nine-year-old Sadie is in a sour mood after her two friends go off on vacation without her. Her hapless parents offer no comfort, so she has to make do with her cat for company until a small witch takes up residence in the plastic playhouse by the garage. Morgan, a.k.a. Ms. M., is a combination of Mary Poppins (with her briskly sympathetic, no-nonsense demeanor) and a stand-up comedian. She may be somewhat unreliable with spells and hexes, but she has several practical skills such as making soup in her cauldron and cleaning out gutters with her broom. She also has problems of her own, having lost track of both her cat and her best friend, but she's great company, quick with a gag (where do the best pencils come from? Pennsylvania, of course), and, best of all, she's a birdwatcher witch, or ornithomancer. Sadie gets bitten by the birding bug herself and is lured out of her snit by a fresh awareness of the natural world as well as a new friendship with pigeon couple Bob and Lois. The sprightly prose will pull in chapter book readers, and spot illustrations keep the page design lively. An appendix covers birding tips for beginners. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)