Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones
Illustrations by John Steven Gurney
Cover Art by Nathan Hale
Cover Design by Alison Klapthor
The major characters in the story, Liza, Eddie, Howie, and Melody are third graders who have reports to write on England. Bailey City library has a new assistant, Mr. Merle, who looks the part of King Arthur’s Merlin. Due to the children’s imagination and seemingly innocuous input from Mr. Merle, the four kids were off and running with very suspicious ideas about Mr. Merle’s intentions. After a few not-so brilliant plans and activities, they found what appeared to be a crystal ball and a magic wand in Mr. Merle’s library office. Finally, the four kids discover Mr. Merle’s true motive for the library and the children of Bailey City. The ending resolved very quickly, with no resolution between the four kids and Mr. Merle. I personally did not like the book because I found it flat and not engaging, not one that children would want to read over and over.
BIBLIO: 1996, Scholastic Inc., Ages 7 to 10, $3.99
REVIEWER: Debby Willett
FORMAT: Chapter Book
ISBN: 978-0-590-50962-6
REVIEWED FOR: Children’s Literature, Online Version, 4/09
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