Rosie's Magic Horse

PreS-Gr 2—Rosie collects discarded ice-pop sticks and places them carefully in her cigar box. When the lid closes on them, they become animated and wish they could become a horse. At bedtime, Rosie takes them out to play, all the while wishing she could find a way to help her parents pay their bills. Instead she finds herself making a galloping horse out of the sticks and falls off to sleep. In her dreams she and a magical stick horse go off in search of a treasure. They finally find a group of pirates playing with their ill-gotten gains, and she and Stickerino bamboozle the thieves and make off with the plunder. When they return, a treasure chest of gold coins awaits Dad at the breakfast table. Hoban makes use of magical realism to create a story in which the ordinary and the extraordinary exist side by side. Rosie is a fine heroine intent only on helping her parents and her cigar-box sticks are eager for adventure. In the end, this is a satisfying partnership for all concerned. Blake's beguiling art has life and movement on every page and invites children to believe that they, too, are on a magical journey where anything can happen.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA