The Wish List: The Worst Fairy Godmother Ever! - a review 5.11.17

The Wish List: The Worst Fairy Godmother Ever!

by Sarah Aronson

published by Scholastic

May 30th

Goodreads summary
Q: What do you need to become a great fairy godmother? 
a) kindness
b) determination
c) gusto
d) all of the above 
Fairy-godmother-in-training Isabelle doesn't know what gusto is, but she's pretty sure she has what it takes to pass fairy godmother training with flying colors. 
But then Isabelle is assigned a practice princess who is not a princess at all. Nora is just a normal girl -- a normal girl who doesn't believe in fairy godmothers, or wishes come true, or happily ever afters. 
Isabelle has to change Nora's mind about magic and grant a wish for her. If she can't, Isabelle will flunk training and never become a great fairy godmother!


My quick thoughts
I've had this book on my TBR long before it even had a cover revealed.  There is something about books that have characters who have to work so hard to get what they want.  And with a title called "The Worst Fairy Godmother Ever", I knew this was going to be a character I could get behind.

What I loved about Isabelle, is how she wasn't afraid to think outside of the box.  Even though she had options (usually given in multiple choice format by her helpful older sister or her watchful grandmomma) Isabelle was always looking for that elusive option that wasn't given as a choice.  She also looked at the person and made decisions on her own instead of  thinking what everyone else might have thought.

I loved that the character of Nora wasn't a typical princess or princess-in-training.  Although some of the ladies that the fairy godmothers in training got paired up with wasted some more traditional wishes, Nora wanted something close to the heart.  World peace.  Or really just a good friend.

This book has a great place in 2nd-5th grade classrooms.  Mature 2nd grade readers will enjoy this quick paced story.  Older readers will enjoy the conflict Isabelle faces and be able to relate to the theme of friendship.  As we have a wide range of readers in our classroom, this is a book that will absolutely touch many students!

Aronson leaves us with a cliffhanger so I'm already anxiously waiting for book 2 to arrive!  I believe I saw a tweet that said she's already working on more!  Isabelle is a character that will leave many readers wanting to revisit.

Be sure to look for this book on May 30th.  If you're placing a May Scholastic Book Clubs order, be sure to order a copy... or two or three... for your library.  It will be checked out frequently!