{My thoughts} – I am and have always been a huge fan of all things fairy tales. So of course I am very excited to be able to read and review this specific book for Scholastic!

Kara and Zed are your average kids in the Kingdom. Zed has a job as a royal messenger and he gets a letter from the Ice Princess that he is meant to deliver. He isn’t able to deliver though and his friend Kara sees that the seal is broken and decides to read it. Once she reads it she learns that the Ice Princess is in trouble because her magic mirror is broken. Without her magic mirror working she isn’t able to start winter and put an end to summer.

Kara decides that her and Zed should go on adventure. She decides that they should go to the Ice Palace and offer to try and help the Ice Princess. They are two kids that have no idea what they are doing and most importantly do not know how to fix a magic mirror. When they get there they aren’t exactly welcomed with open arms, but the Ice Princess does decide to give them a chance since everyone else has ignored all her pleas for help.

I really enjoyed this book. It isn’t typical as to what you’d think when you hear magic mirror. It is however, typical in all other things of the story. I like that it is a lesson about learning to get a long and share. I think that every child that reads this book can learn how important those things are. I also think that it was a fun story that helps to show children, that even though they might not know how to do something, it doesn’t hurt to try something new either.

I look forward to reading more books in this series as they are released. ( )

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2019. ( )

@kidlitexchange #partner - Thank you #kidlitexchange , @scholastic, @annastan and @mackyart for the ARC of THE MAGIC MIRROR - Number one in the about-to-be-brand new chapterbook series Once Upon a Fairy Tale. I was provided the book in exchange for the following honest review.

Honestly, there are so many ways to do a retelling that it’s never going to get old - or at least I hope not! THE MAGIC MIRROR in particular is a fusion-retelling of The Snow Queen (the real Hans Christen Anderson one of course) and… the author’s whacko imagination (Anna’s words not mine). There are other little Easter eggs throughout, such as Kara’s parents are shoemakers and trolls work in the palace.

Anyway, kid duo Kara and her BFF Zed are appointed by their fellow townspeople to figure out why the Snow Queen won’t flip the switch from Summer to Winter. Everyone’s hot and all the ice cream is melting. Come on… Enchanted Village a 18th-century village; it’s not like everybody has a deep freezer in the garage.

The Snow Queen and the Sun Queen are finger-pointing over a broken mirror and fighting over custody of a pet monkey who loves them *both*. It takes Kara’s sleuthing and a lot of patience dealing with the cranky Snow Queen to get the mirror fixed and winter started.

The mystery resolution is so subtle I had to go back and re-read parts. Kara is definitely the brains of the operation but bestie Zed is the clear moral support and comic relief. (A good message IMO, that we need both in life).

My only caveat is that the Snow Queen’s attitude STUNK for 99% of the book, and nobody called her on the carpet for it. It was a good jumping point for a conversation with my 6 and 8 year old (girl/boy) though.

To note, Zed appears to be Black, although with all the missing monkeys, broken magic mirrors, and melting ice palaces race doesn’t factor into the story.

THE MAGIC MIRROR releases September 3, 2019 from Scholastic (just in time for your first Fall book order!) with at least three more books to follow in the 2019-2020 school year. I’m looking forward to returning to Enchanted Village soon! ( )