I'm not a fan of fantasy. With only one book in my "go-to" pile for fantastic fantasy titles (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane if you must know), I always approach the genre of fantasy with a weary eye. I should have known The Magic Thief wouldn't disappoint before cracking the cover, though. Having set up one of Sarah Prineas' first skype sessions with a school four years ago for my old elementary school, I found her to be charming and approachable. How many authors do you know will happily greet a library full of eager readers in bed proudly donning her jammies? Sarah did it...and so I pitched her first book in the Magic Thief series to my most challenging readers. You know the ones-they are the kids who gobble up books and look to you to feed their insatiable appetite just days after finding "just the right book" for them. They're the ones who see deeper than the surface level of the text, the ones who read well beyond the book. They loved it. In fact, I couldn't contain them. Once they began reading, they couldn't (or wouldn't) read JUST to the agreed upon page number AND STOP. Instead, it became a race to the finish. And isn't that what we want for our kids? The Magic Thief was a resounding success complete with a skype session from the ever gracious Ms. Prineas herself (this time taking the time to come to the camera in a turtle neck and sweater, thank you very much). Talking with great passion and stirring up excitement for the written word, she left my kids hungry for more of her books; though they left the skype session with full bellies. Why, may you ask? I made them some biscuits from one of the two recipes tucked into the book. Which recipe I followed, you'll have to guess. But here's a hint...they finished them. Could they be Bennett's or were they Conn's? Read the book, decipher some codes along the way, and maybe you'll be hungry for more, too.
Much enjoyed, even if it WAS fantasy.
Thanks again, Sarah!