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The Spell Thief
(Little Legends #1)
by
"Jack (of the beanstalk fame) and his magical talking chicken, Betsy, have always been great at making new friends, like their BFFs Red and Rapunzel. But when Jack spots Anansi, the new kid in town, talking to a troll in the Deep Dark Woods, everything changes. Everyone knows that trolls mean trouble, and Jack will do anything to prove to the rest of his friends that Anans
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Paperback, 208 pages
Published
December 6th 2016
by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
(first published February 11th 2016)
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Eva
This is the first book !
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Start your review of The Spell Thief (Little Legends #1)
A cute story with a good message!
My four year old enjoyed the story, as well as the illustrations, as a read aloud and my six year old found that it was at a good reading level for him. The fairytale themed characters were a fun aspect of the story which I think I appreciated more than my boys!
This is me being super picky here, but didn't love the use of the word "idiot." While it's not exactly a "bad" word, it is in our house, and it's not a word I really want my small kids reading and repeatin ...more
My four year old enjoyed the story, as well as the illustrations, as a read aloud and my six year old found that it was at a good reading level for him. The fairytale themed characters were a fun aspect of the story which I think I appreciated more than my boys!
This is me being super picky here, but didn't love the use of the word "idiot." While it's not exactly a "bad" word, it is in our house, and it's not a word I really want my small kids reading and repeatin ...more
'Buddy read' with a work kiddo; I am pretending this counts as legit. B&W chibi-style illustrations accompany this very solid transitional read. A grounding in Western folk/fairytales, or at least Disney movies, would be helpful if not well-nigh essential in understanding what is essentially AU fanfic. Kiddo enjoyed seeing familiar characters in a different context, though our favorite character was Betsy, the talking chicken.
(Note: you can rise to g-damn comedic heights with grade schoolers if ...more
(Note: you can rise to g-damn comedic heights with grade schoolers if ...more
5 stars as rated by my 7 year old daughter. She thoroughly enjoyed the story and the illustrations.
This books characters are fun fun and adventurous adventurous. It’s exciting and funny and has everything that makes a book good.
This was cute, but a little darker/meaner than I expected. Nora enjoyed it, even though it's several years above her grade level, and I did like the fairy tale characters.
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A great book to read with seven year old. She was able to read it to me as well. Plenty of familiar characters and plot points from other fairy tales, and some original humour mixed in.
Jake and I loved this! Full review will come to the blog
The Spell Thief is the first book in the Little Legends series by Tom Percival and is currently scheduled for release on December 6 2016. Jack (of the beanstalk fame) and his magical talking chicken, Betsy, have always been great at making new friends. But when Jack spots Anansi, the new kid in town, talking to a troll in the Deep Dark Woods, everything changes. Everyone knows that trolls mean trouble, and Jack will do anything to prove to the rest of his friends that Anansi is a troll spy. Even
...more
Gained from netgalley I have been reading this chapter book to my 6yr old daughter
This story didn't hold my daughters interest for as long at a time as some other chapter books have done though to be fair it is aimed at 7+ readers
I liked the idea of incorporating fairy tale characters such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretal, Jack (from Jack and the beanstalk) and building a story around them it gave my daughter characters she had heard of as a starting point, my daughter told me she liked the girls ...more
I thought that this was such a uniquely presented story. It was visually appealing, playful and quite humorous. The storyline was easy to follow, but with that said, I confess that it was so different than what I had anticipated.
I believe kids will certainly enjoy this book. I would also add that I think this book would make a great read aloud for the family unit. There are many lessons and talking points that can be explored.
Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes
NetGalley
I believe kids will certainly enjoy this book. I would also add that I think this book would make a great read aloud for the family unit. There are many lessons and talking points that can be explored.
Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes
NetGalley
Loads of fun with some seriously wicked humor. Excellent artwork as always. Another winner for Mr. Percival.
Gained from netgalley I have been reading this chapter book to my 6yr old daughter
This story didn't hold my daughters interest for as long at a time as some other chapter books have done though to be fair it is aimed at 7+ readers
I liked the idea of incorporating fairy tale characters such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretal, Jack (from Jack and the beanstalk) and building a story around them it gave my daughter characters she had heard of as a starting point, my daughter told me she liked the girls ...more
This story didn't hold my daughters interest for as long at a time as some other chapter books have done though to be fair it is aimed at 7+ readers
I liked the idea of incorporating fairy tale characters such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretal, Jack (from Jack and the beanstalk) and building a story around them it gave my daughter characters she had heard of as a starting point, my daughter told me she liked the girls ...more
The girls and I laughed so hard reading this book. There are tons of pictures and the story is a good one. Jack and his friends live in a town called "tale town" with a tree in the center that records their stories. One day, a strange boy comes in on a ship and everyone likes him, except for Jack, who say him talking to some suspicious gnomes and then caught him fibbing about it.
Jack then sets off to prove how bad the new kid is, and manages to dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole as one pl ...more
Jack then sets off to prove how bad the new kid is, and manages to dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole as one pl ...more
Finally read this early chapter "fairy tale" about Jack and his friends (Red, Hansel, Gretl, Repunzel and now Anansi). Jack is wary of new-kid Anansi after seeing him talking to a troll in the woods. He confronts him and Anansi lies, so Jack goes to great lengths - with spells from Lily the sea witch - to prove him untrustworthy. As often happens with spells, they get Jack into trouble and alienate him from his old friends, but he tries to fix things and in the end learns the moral of the story.
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My two 7 year olds loved this book, and there were parts I really enjoyed: Jack's storyline about the consequences of rushing to judgement about a person, and how to repair the damage that often arises from that, is one. The illustrations were also super, and I automatically love any story that has a hen as a sidekick. However, I had higher expectations from a modern take on fairytale characters. Nevertheless, I enjoyed how much my children enjoyed the story, so we will continue with book 2 in t
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Aug 19, 2018
Paromita
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
aj-exclusive,
aj-non-ex
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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First in this series. Readers meet various fairy tale characters as children. To open the story, we see Jack joining his friends to have fun in their town. They see a new boy, Anansi, and Jack is suspicious and a bit jealous of him. Readers watch the complications Jack creates for himself and others as he spies on and then attempts to use various spells to learn the truth about Anansi. Sadly, he does learn the truth from his spying and realises how foolish he has been.
The text flows easily for m ...more
The text flows easily for m ...more
This was a cute little beginning chapter book. The middle seemed to drag a little, and the moral was a bit heavy handed, but that kind of fits with the fairy tale motif. I was disappointed that the download did not read well on my kindle. The illustrations were broken up and the text was choppy in places. I would like to see a print copy. I will most likely purchase this for my library.
*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley*
*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley*
Nov 04, 2017
Stories Under Starlight Book Reviews
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
The first book in a fun chapter book series by Tom Percival! Great twist on the fairy-tale genre in the Little Legends series! Great illustrations and easy to read for 2nd grade and up! Full of excitement and humor, your child won't be disappointed with The Spell Thief! Definitely going to be adding this and all the Little Legends books to my school library! Recommended for ages 7 - 10 yrs.
*A DRC was given for an honest review. ...more
*A DRC was given for an honest review. ...more
Read this aloud, all in one go, to Violet (age 4) today. We liked the characters based on familiar fairy/folk tales and the imaginative setting (love the treetop cafe!), but I was less thrilled by the storyline and occasional slightly-too-gruesome references. But points for the excitement level and cool illustrations that kept us reading and the take-home message (according to Violet) that “it’s about being kind.” 3.5 stars and we’ll definitely check out the rest of the series.
Overall, cute story for upper elementary/middle schoolers, but I must say that even though Jack was quite a jerk, his friends can't really be called his friends. They immediately ditched him for the new kid (several times) and wouldn't hear him out. That's not true friendship. I don't want kids learning from this terrible example.
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Cute little book. My 8 year old daughter lived it and I’m sure my son will like it when he reads it.
Jack learns some very important lessons in this story. He has amazing friends who are very kind and forgiving. There are some humorous parts, which make it fun, and the magic and fairy tales and mystery make it exciting.
Jack learns some very important lessons in this story. He has amazing friends who are very kind and forgiving. There are some humorous parts, which make it fun, and the magic and fairy tales and mystery make it exciting.
We loved it!! It was so interesting reading this story with all this fairy tale characters. The message in the storry is a really good one. We laughed a lot reading this book!! Now we have to read the second book!!
Interesting tale about fairy tale characters and their adventures
I think the second one does a better job setting up who is who. And I like the story for that one more ;)
Does say idiot a few times.
I think the second one does a better job setting up who is who. And I like the story for that one more ;)
Does say idiot a few times.
This book completely enthralled my littles! (6, 5, and 3). Every time I put it down, within a very short time, they were clamoring for "more Nancy!", which is what my 3-yr old dubbed Anansi. Even my husband said, "Well that was a rollercoaster of a book!" When it finished. So fun.
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My 3rd grade daughter and I read this book and she loved know the characters and how they seemed more like her. This was a fun read for both of us.
This was the perfect tie-in to our fairy tale unit.
My daughter absolutely loved reading this book together and can't wait to read the next one!
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Quick fun read for young fairy tale lovers! I'd guess 2nd grade up would enjoy this silly story. It's a fun take on fairy tales most children will be familiar with. Worth a read!
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My 5 y/o super love the adventures of the characters as well as the pictures of the book. Now I am awaiting for this book to be available here in my country for me to add it in our little library. :)
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Tom Percival writes and illustrates picture books (you know, for kids) as well as illustrating books written by other people. The most well known of these is probably the excellent Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
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