Abracadabra!: The Magic of Trying

by Maria Loretta Giraldo, Nicoletta Bertelle (Illustrator)

All of the little birds have learned to fly...except Little Owl. The others explain that it's easy: all he has to do is say "abracadabra!" At first, it doesn't work, and Little Owl thinks the "magic" word is broken! But as he gets better and better, he realizes that the real magic is in himself. This book teaches children how to face challenges and keep trying, despite setbacks. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" with tips for encouraging kids to persevere.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2017

About the author

Maria is a celebrated children’s author who lives and works along the Brenta Riviera in Verona, Italy. Her children’s books have been translated and published all over the world. She is a long-term artistic partner of Nicoletta Bertelle.

Reviews

[Patricia Tilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book realistically depicts how slow Little Owl’s progress may be, yet how rewarding it is when he overcomes his fear and succeeds in the end. He glides through the sky and his self-confidence soars. Nicoletta Bertelle’s signature illustrations are colorful and whimsical and compliment the story.
The story has a memorable cast of forest characters — the birds, a turtle, a mouse, hedgehog — who turn out to encourage Little Owl to take the leap and flap his wings. They offer suggestions and continue to support him. Each one tells him to say the magic word, “abracadabra,” but it doesn’t work. No matter how many times Little Owl tries, he fails and crashes. But he doesn’t give up and keeps trying.
Keep this book on hand when your child tries to do something new, like riding a bike or swimming. Some children may be afraid of failing, hurting themselves and don’t want to try. Like Little Owl, trying something new takes practice and perseverance, no matter the setbacks. It is so important to support a frustrated child. Practice takes time, but is well worth the effort.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather heavy-handed approach to the topic of perseverance, written more for teachers and caregivers than their charges, yet children are likely to ignore the didactic text and be charmed by the colorful googly-eyed animals as they crash and splash their way along the learning curve of optimized performance. Includes a “Note to Parents and Caregivers” about teaching perseverance as a life skill.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Owl is in flight school with many other young birds. When it comes time to learn how to fly Owl finds itself afraid. Turtle comes along and tells Owl bout ABRACADABRA, the magic word you say when you take off. Little Owl tries it and it takes a few tries but it works!

A good story about persistence. Lots of info on the topic of persistence for parents.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It doesn’t work right away. You need to try, try, and try again, without getting discouraged.”

Little Owl is too afraid to try to fly. He’s afraid he might fall. But through the encouragement of others, he tries and though he fails at first, he keeps trying. There’s nothing magic about the word. The magic comes from being gritty.

[Evelyn Saidov · Rating 5 out of 5]

FICTION 2018
This is a great book for younger grades that teaches the lesson of "if at first you don't succeed, try try again!" This is something that everybody needs to both hear, and practice! I especially love that once the owl learns this lesson, he passes it along!

[Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che meraviglia... dai disegni alla storia, tutto mi piace. Quanta dolcezza nel gufetto che prova e riprova, negli amici che lo aiutano senza mai abbatterlo, in lui stesso che poi passa lui dalla parte di chi aiuta.

un gioiello

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty heavy-handed and I don’t really like that they basically lie to the owl? When I read this one in my program, I heavily adlibbed and changed “abracadabra” to the phrase “don’t give up!” which we all said together to the owl each time.

[Abby Peskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reiterates that trying multiple times gets you to the desired outcome. However, it also seems to convey the idea that a specific idiosyncratic way of playing would actually magically achieve a goal, which isn't exactly what I'd like to convey to children.

[Ryan Koontz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading Level: Primary
Genre: Modern Fantasy
This book was very underwhelming. It felt a little to the point. I feel like this book would not appeal to the younger children it is written for. The illustrations, however, are somewhat engaging and pleasing to look at.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the colors and the styles of the illustrations in this book. The birds were really fun. Little owl doesn't want to try flying because he is afraid of falling. I liked how his friends helped him.

[Christine Turner]

I like the idea of this book...it might work for early elementary.