Maxie Wiz and the Magic Charms (Maxie Wiz: Step Into Reading Level 1)

Gr 1-3--Maxie, a dark-skinned wizard, is ready to start her homework for magic class. She must find five charms, then follow the directions to cast a sparkly spell. She and her friend Dragon gather the charms, but when she attempts the spell, it falls flat. Discouraged, but persevering, she rereads the directions, finds her mistake, and tries again. With a hocus-pocus and a whirl of her wand, she finds glittery success! This Level 1 reader aligns with beginning reader best practices of a simple story, few words/lines per page, large font, and a wide variety of letter sounds/blends, but ends up more like a Level 2 reader due to little repetition and word lengths as in "homework" and "double-check." The narrative starts with a confusing first line: "Magic homework." Is the homework magic, or is the homework for a magic class? This may lead beginning readers to initial difficulty in following the story, but excellent context clues will get them back on track in short order. VERDICT Appropriate, but not glittering. Recommend to Level 2 readers.--Kate Davis