Magic by Heart

by Amy Gordon, Adam Gustavson (Illustrator)

When Arietta and her magic cloak are kidnapped by a lonely magician, her family, friends, and animals come together to find a way to rescue her. By the author of The Gorillas of Gill Park.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2007

Reviews

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it I got it in about third grade and I’ve read it several times - beginning another reread now!

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful story of a young girl born from food magic, and granted the ability to see the truth in people's hearts. A man, a magician who believes he is ugly, has never been ugly in Arietta's eyes and he has fallen in love with that truth even though he does not believe it. But Arietta, along with her godmother and a variety of friends, human and animal, prevail even after Hector attempts to kidnap and adopt her as his own daughter. The story shows the power of family in both the good and bad ways as well as the power of inner beauty and how it shines no matter what the outside skin may look like. Ariette is a delightful character and the concept of food magic is very interesting in a middle-reader book.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story moves slowly and is not as interesting as the jacket implies. Spanish language is a part of the story; there are Spanish names and short phrases indicated with italicization. Therefore, this would be a beneficial addition if a school has a large Spanish speaking population.

Semi-positively reviewed in Horn Book. No other reviews found.

[Anastasha Agudo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first real book (and I mean not just some silly children's book) that I've ever read in my entire existence and it's still the best. I don't know why but if it wasn't, I would not have read it countless times. This book should seriously be a classic.