Costume Craziness

Mystical Pencil

by Dustin Evans

Alex is your average fourth grader who loves to draw. One day, Alex's father, an archaeologist, returns home from a dig in a distant country. Alex finds an old wooden pencil in his dad's bag and uses it to finish his homework. But, this pencil has mystical powers and suddenly his drawings come to life! Alex tries desperately to return the pencil to his father, but it keeps falling into other children's hands. Will Alex ever get it back where it can be kept safe under lock and key?

In the Mystical Pencil's second adventure, Alex woke up from the Renaissance nightmare and the Mystical Pencil was nowhere to be found. Until he gets to school that is! There he discovers Sara has found the pencil and is using it to draw costumes and sets for the school play. She doesn't believe Alex's warnings until it is too late! Can Alex and Sara work together to take the farm out of the school and back onstage?

Graphic Planet is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Group. Grades 3-6.

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second installment in the “Mystical Pencil” series. The author brings the reader up to speed about the enchanted relic on page one. After Alex gets rid of the magic pencil, he realizes too late that his friend Sara has found it and plans to use it to draw the costumes for the school play. When he tries to warn her about the problems the pencil can cause, they are both given lunch detention. Of course, Sara doesn't believe his warning about the pencil; she draws a flying pig that comes to life and wreaks havoc on the school. She then draws a farm, complete with farm animals and the farmer himself, hoping they can wrangle the flying pig. That only makes matters worse. Sara thinks hard to solve the problem and draws the right setting to get things back on track. Alex and Sara find themselves magically transported to the end of the play. Naturally, Sara gets rid of the pencil without thinking, only to have it picked up by the science teacher, paving the way for book three. The final page offers instructions for drawing a flying pig. This graphic title has lots of kid appeal with its adolescent plot and enjoyable illustrations. The title is a good choice for a school library; it will appeal to graphic novel fans and reluctant readers alike.