Product Description

Hunky Dory is at the top of her class in charm school. She can make flowers wilt like wet spaghetti. She can make thunder rumble like a whale’s bellyache. And she can turn any prince into a frog-but she always changes them back. That’s when she knows there’ll be a problem

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274009 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .43" h x 5.26" w x 7.62" l, .26 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6–Move over Sabrina and Tabitha, there's a new teen witch in town! In Esme Raji Codell's enjoyable story (Hyperion, 2005), Hunky Dory's mother expects her to become the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow. Hunky, well on her way to accomplishing that feat, is first in her class at witch's charm school. Through a series of misadventures described in her diary, Hunky realizes that she would rather learn more about wishcraft than witchcraft. When the fact is revealed that Hunky likes granting wishes and is interested in learning how to become a (gasp!) F.G. (Fairy Godmother), she is expelled from school. Full of puns and wicked humor, this light fantasy will appeal to girls looking for a little magic of their own. Allusions to Harry Potter and Queen Mab are intertwined with inclusions of familiar fairy and witch stories, such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. Tinkly fairy-like music floats in the background as Hunky begins reading her diary entries. When she truly accepts herself and becomes a fairy godmother, lush orchestral music signals the end of the story. Listeners are also treated to an appendix of some words of wisdom from the witch/fairy godmother textbook Be the One with the Wand and a recipe for Booger Cookies. Rachael Lillis provides just the right amount of innocence as the voice of Hunky Dory, and extends the effect of the diary by having Hunky do vocal impressions of people she has conversations with. Simply charming!–Stephanie Bange, Dayton and Metro Library, Wilmington Stroop Branch, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Narrator Rachel Lillis introduces us to diarist Hunky Dorey, a witch considering abandoning a promising future in witchcraft for the possibility of "wishcraft," the art of fairy godmothering. Lillis's vocal characterization reveals the idealism and kindness that make Hunky question her upbringing, but she fails to make the listener believe the venom that is also part of Hunky's character and that creates the story's central conflict. As a whole, the audio doesn't overcome the novel's slow pace. Some of the voices for the secondary characters are outstanding--as in the case of Hunky's sophisticated aunt--but Lillis misses opportunities when she reads flatly and doesn't keep the dialogue snappy. A.F. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Codell, author of Sahara Special (2003) and Sing a Song of Tunafish (2004), offers a shrewd fantasy about a young witch's identity crisis. Adolescent Hunky Dory enjoys studying to be wicked alongside Acid Reflux, Sinus Infection, and other members of her coven. But is a life of toil and trouble really for her? Even though her elders dismiss fairy godmothers as "vapid underachievers," Hunky finds the prospect of granting wishes strangely compelling. She tests her skills in storybook forest, putting the fairy in numerous, familiar fairy tales (What did Wolf want with that frilly nightgown, anyway?) The events prompting Hunky's reconciliation with her disapproving mother seem a little confused, and not every reader will respond to Codell's tart, sophisticated humor. But many girls, particularly fans of Eva Ibbitson and Vivian Vande Velde, will find a sympathetic heroine in Hunky Dory, in whom mischief and sweetness coexist--just as they do in the concluding recipe for Hunky's favorite "booger cookies." Sly, stylish full- and half-page drawings contribute added appeal. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved