Messy Miranda. (Orca Echoes). Jeff Szpirglas & Danielle Saint-Onge. Illustrated by Dave Whamond. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2013. 54 pp., pbk., pdf & epub, $6.95 (pbk.). ISBN 978-1-4598-0117-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-4598-0118-9 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4598-0518-7 (epub). Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8. Review by Kaitlyn Vardy. *** /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

If a rabbit could go into the hat, what else could? Maybe the mess from her desk?

When it comes to school life, Miranda is funny, smart, and social. However, her desk is a mess! Miranda finds the task of keeping her desk tidy to be harder than one would expect. One evening when Miranda visits her Uncle Aldo (who just happens to be a magician), she comes up with a bright idea to help her fix her disastrous desk for good! Sneakily, Miranda tiptoes up the stairs to find her Uncle Aldo’s magic room, a room which is filled with wands, chains, trunks, and hats. Miranda knew she found what she needed when she spotted a small white rabbit hop right out of her Uncle Aldo’s black magic top hat. When Monday arrived, Miranda headed to school with her magic hat in tow, yet she is quiet, and does not let anyone know she has a magic hat stored in her desk. The magic hat does the trick by sucking all of the mess out of her desk. However, Miranda’s classmates become suspicious, wondering how she is keeping her desk so clean. Suspicion turns into discovery for her even messier desk classmate, Jaiden, as he gets sucked into the hat. After rescuing Jaiden from the hat, Miranda knows she’s gotten herself into a mess and that the right thing to do is to return the hat to her Uncle Aldo. Miranda comes to learn the lesson of being careful with magic and to not take it for granted.

     As a messy desk is not uncommon, Miranda is a relatable character. The few illustrations provide the readers with comical character emotions. Messy Miranda is a good early chapter book for primary school children looking for a good laugh.

Recommended.

Kaitlyn Vardy is a children’s librarian at the Prince George Public Library in Prince George, BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

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