The Other Side Of Magic

Keyholders #2

by Debbie Dadey, Marcia Thornton Jones

The second in a series of light fantasy chapter books set in Morgantown, a town on the border between the real world and the magical world, by the authors of the Publishers Weekly bestselling BAILEY SCHOOL KIDS—a series of 50 books with more than 30 million copies sold!

“I need your help, Natalie,” Mr. Leery said. “Yours and Penny’s and Luke’s.”

Natalie is surprised to learn from her neighbor, Mr. Leery, that her classmates Penny and Luke are apprentice Keyholders. A Keyholder’s job is to guard the border between the real world and the magical world. Natalie is even more surprised when she finds out that she could be a Keyholder too—if she forms a “link” with a rat named Buttercup.

Will Natalie choose to join the Keyholders? Can she, Penny, and Luke learn how to work together with their links and protect the border from the goblins sent by the evil Queen of the Boggarts?

Genres: Chapter Books

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Debbie Dadey is the author and co-author of 162 books for children, including the Mermaid Tales series from Simon and Schuster and the beloved Adventures of The Bailey School Kids from Scholastic. Ms. Dadey is a former teacher and librarian. Please like her at Facebook.com/debbiedadey.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Jayne]

Nice quick read.

[L13_Meghan]

I read this book on my iPad, however I did not feel as if that necessarily changed the experience I had while reading this text. I did find that this a great book for young students just beginning to read chapter books, who also might like the idea of having a series of books to read! Children would be able to find a character within the series that they could relate to, and the chapters are short and simple, with some full pages of black and white illustrations in between. The characters must work together and problem-solve throughout the story, which can be a great story for children to follow. Also, the conclusion of the book would encourage children to pursue the next book of the series.

I gave this book three stars, only because for me, this would not have personally been my pick as a child. With that said, I always had a hard time enjoying fantasy/science-fiction texts, so it did not surprise me that I was not necessarily crazy about this book. I would, however, recommend this series to students who are interested in this genre and would benefit from falling in love with a series.

[Lynsey]

4th-5th grade
The text in the book is rather large for a chapter book, but makes it easier to read. This book still has a few illustration placed within the chapters. The illustrations are just black and white sketches but give a good picture of what the characters look like and where they are going. This book will appeal to students because the characters are their age and the book is full of mystery, magic and superhero type characters.
Classroom Connection:
Science- discuss topics such as air and gases. How we can’t see them always but they are there.
Language Arts- Foreshadowing…create possible endings to the story. Then read the next volume to see how the story actually unfolds.

[Meghan]

I have been reading this series to my class of first, second, and third graders. They LOVE it!