The Wizard

by Bill Martin Jr.

A zany wizard and his assistants are busy mixing a potion and casting a spell, dancing around a bubbling cauldron until someone disappears, in a magical wordplay adventure, accompanied by exuberant full-color illustrations. By the author of Old Devil Wind.

Genres: Picture Books, Magic

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See ; Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ; Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing, developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/billma...

Reviews

[Michelle Gallegos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book takes readers up in a tower where a wizard is mixing a potion trying to cast a spell. This book has a lot of rhyming words in which children will have fun reading ,along with onomatopoeia words presented in the illustrations. The illustrations are filled with color pleasing the eye. Yes the story was straight forward but I believe it will bring giggle and laughter to a young audience.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no real reason for this book to be called the wizard, however the title and illustrations do most of the talking. This book would be really fun at story time, or even made into a puppet show. It’s simple, but the points are easily made, and the sounds of the words will have the audience in giggles.

[Kurt Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to rate this?
5 stars for the illustrations. Easily 5 stars! Awesome!
2 stars for the story.

I think kids will love to read it over and over and over and over... just to look at the pictures.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short, simple book w/ beautiful art and really entertaining story.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fun book to read aloud. Wizard and his helpers go about the workshop casting spells.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short, beautifully illustrated story about a clumsy wizard. This is easy enough for a beginning reader and a fun choice for story-time with all the onomatopoeias.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. It was simply rhyming words and dark pictures to try to go with the words.