The Triumphant Tale of Pippa North

November 15, 2019
It would be possible to enjoy this fantasy novel for the names alone. The people in this fantasy novel have unlikely names: not just Pippa North, but Council member Gulliver Slickabee and a witch called Helga Hookeye. And the story centers on an unusual subject: hats. Magicians in the kingdom of Wanderly can't perform spells until they've received their hats. Oliver Dash is 11, and his hat has yet to arrive, so he comes up with a far-fetched scheme to get one, in which he convinces Pippa he's her fairy godmother. (The characters' race is almost never described, but Pippa and Oliver appear white in the cover art.) This all makes sense in context, although it requires many improbable plot twists in rapid succession. That sometimes leads to haphazard pacing, but the characters and events are consistently engaging. The problem is: Sometimes they're not outlandish enough. The enchanted letters that children receive, on gusts of wind, feel a little too much like J.K. Rowling's Howlers. But even when elements seem too familiar, the jokes are funnier than in Beltz's first tale set in Wanderly, The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom (2019). It's hilarious that a peacock is named Bob, for reasons too ridiculous to explain here but that are conveyed in one of the many footnotes that festoon the book's pages. The plot, however messy, is so delightfully off-kilter that the names may be the least outlandish part of the story. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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March 1, 2020

Gr 4-6-In the highly structured fairy-tale kingdom of Wanderly, everyone from hero to villain must play their assigned part. Eleven-year-old Pippa North is content with her role of commoner. When Pippa is uprooted from the cozy cottage of her family of 10 and sent to the Triumphant academy for heroes in training, it seems like a mistake. Something isn't right about her new home-the heroes seem less than heroic, and the famed Castle Cressida is crumbling around them. Across the kingdom, 11-year-old Oliver Dash struggles to fit in at Razzle's School for Meddlesome Boys, where he has yet to receive his magician's hat despite being one of the oldest students. In his efforts to earn his hat, Oliver unwittingly joins forces with the educator magicians plotting to rise to power and overthrow the social structure of the kingdom. When Pippa writes to her fairy godmother, the winds of the fairy-tale realm carry her request to Oliver, and the two pen pals join forces with other students to defend the castle against the plotters. Fans of Adam Gidwitz and Sarah Prineas will enjoy this middle grade adventure with its determined and resourceful protagonist Pippa, bumbling but hardworking Oliver, and a charismatic cast of supporting characters. This bright and humorous tale is narrated by a book with thoughts and feelings of its own, who interjects with opinions about the plot and the occasional vocabulary lesson. VERDICT A charming story of bravery, teamwork, and friendship. Recommended for juvenile fiction collections.-Lauren Younger, University of Dallas Library

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