From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6–Set in the picturesque town of Sherbet, this story centers around four girls who live on Gumm Street. Franny, Pru, and Cat are not friends (at least not at first). Pru thinks Franny is reckless. Franny thinks Pru is a big baby. And they both dislike Cat because she is just too perfect. But when Ivy moves into the neighborhood, everything changes. First she discovers a pair of ruby slippers. Then the girls' piano teacher, Mr. Staccato, disappears. And, finally, a strange and magnetic woman claiming to be his sister moves into his house. The girls soon realize that they must ban together to save Sherbet. With the help of two dogs, a jinx, Pru's copy of
The Wizard of Oz, and ESP, they set out on an adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Primavera's illustrations, laced throughout the narrative, are small artistic gems that unite the text. To truly enjoy
The Secret Order, readers should be familiar with L. Frank Baum's original
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, even those only familiar with the 1939 film will take pleasure in this delightful tale of friendship and adventure.
–Lisa Marie Williams, Fairfax County Public Library System, Reston, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Franny, Pru, and Cat, enemies all, live on Gumm Street. Ivy's arrival doesn't enhance relationships. When Mr. Staccato, a piano teacher and collector extraordinaire, dies after bequeathing
The Wizard of Oz ruby slippers to Ivy, a coalescing force arrives in the person of his niece, Cha-Cha, who resembles the wicked witch. To outsmart Cha-Cha, the girls join together, but before they can say "Toto," they find themselves in the land of Spoz, where Cha-Cha lives with her Paris Hilton-like wards, Coco and Bling-Bling. In her first novel, Primavera, best known for picture books, tries to combine the friendships of the Babysitters Club with the over-the-top adventures of the Baudelaire siblings, but the result is often more wearing than winsome. Still, this has moments of high humor, and like Quentin Blake's art in Roald Dahl's books, Primavera's energetic artwork often carries the day. Kids will miss a few of the jokes (Judy Garland's real last name was Gumm), but most of the humor is broad enough to hit the target audience. The first in a series.
Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
