Customer Reviews

The Magical Mrs. Iptweet and Me

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Run, do not walk, to the nearest indie bookstore in your town, city, village, and pay as much as you possibly can for as many copies as you have friends, to purchase Book One of The Magical Mrs. Iptweet and Me, by brilliant newcomer Barbara Mayfield. You will not be sorry. You will be sending this reviewer flowers from your reclaimed garden patch; you'll be emailing this reviewer photos of your freshly constructed Dream-o-rama in which your dream life will be transformed into something worth remembering, and through the US Mail I will be expecting the exciting, creative and quirky Postal Creations you will be inspired to make before you finish Chapter 4. Prudence Fish Hornby and Mrs. Iptweet are heroines for the 21st Century - quirky, creative, inspired, funny and effectively subverting the dominant paradigm while having tea in bluebird teacups. And eating coconut cake.
It's about time. Stop reading this. Go buy the book.
P.S. This is a high-concept book. Super high.

Pick up this book for some magic not only in the life of any kid you know but for yourself too. Definitely a book for all ages, the book's heroine Prudy is bored, bored, bored until one day the fabulous Mrs. Iptweet moves in and the word bored never leaves Prudy's lips again. Mrs. Iptweet is someone I wish had lived in my neighborhood when I was growing up; now that I am grown up, I wish I was Mrs. Iptweet. No one uses any magic wands, but Mrs. Iptweet and her warm, wonderful and slightly wacky outlook on life transforms everything from a desolate patch of weeds to Prudy herself. You will want to build a dreamcatcher bed and stage a Mythical Creatures Parade yourself.

I bought this book for my grandniece and grand-nephews on advice of a friend. Since the kids are just infants (book is recommended as "read-to ages 6-7, read-alone ages 8-12"), I decided it was OK for me to read it, until they grow up a bit. It took me back to my reading adventures as a child. How I wish I had met Mrs. Iptweet at that age! I, too, lived on boring streets! The story shows how it is OK to be different and how normal people have the creativity to come together and do wonderful things. Also, that anybody can be a leader, even if it is scary at the start. I really liked the subtle way that modern family life is depicted in a positive light. The depiction of grownups is straightforward for kids but with some depth for the grownup reader. Without revealing too much, the climax involves motorcyclists playing banjos, as normal life becomes special without going off the tracks. I look forward to buying Book 2.

Children often find mentors in life, but Prudence found one that changed her life. "The Magical Mrs. Iptweet and Me" is a novel following young Prudence Hornby as Mrs. Iptweet moves onto her street and nothing is the same again. An exciting adventure for young readers, sure to instill appreciation for elders and adventure, "The Magical Mrs. Iptweet and Me" is a top pick.