Review by Booklist Review
This opener to the Enchanted Sisters series introduces readers to the Sparkles: Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn. The magical sisters change the seasons for the humans of the Outerworld during the quarterly Sparkle Ceremony. When Mother Nature decides to throw a party for her most beloved adviser, she asks Autumn, the most cautious of the Sparkles, to safeguard the present, a beautiful blanket, until the celebration. During a game of Sparkle Dare, Autumn, acting out of character, calls up a windstorm that carries the blanket away, where it is picked up by Twister, one of a villainous foursome of foul weather. Desperate to recover the blanket before the party, Autumn and her sisters chase Twister and his brothers across the Sparkledoms and, working together, make it on time to the party with the blanket. The none-too-subtle lessons about cooperation and impulsivity are cheerfully served up by authors Allen and Stanford in this speedy adventure. Goofy cartoon illustrations that showcase the diverse cast of characters complement this sweet, sparkly story.--Szwarek, Magan Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Autumn and her wide-eyed Sparkle sisters-Spring, Summer, and Winter-live in Mother Nature's realm. They are responsible for the magical turn of the seasons for the Outworlders, or humans, who have no idea the Sparkles exist. When not keeping nature in balance, the sisters play in their enchanted world, often crossing paths with Bluster Tempest and the Weeds, wild boys who love chaos and causing trouble for the sisters. This new series, created by The Jim Henson Company and aimed at newly independent chapter book readers, launches with Autumn's Secret Gift, in which Autumn's responsible temperament is put to the test when she loses a special gift given to her by Mother Nature. Working together, the girls must retrieve Autumn's gift quickly. Readers of Daisy Meadow's "Rainbow Magic" books will love this fast-paced adventure intermingled with devoted animals, transporting rainbows, and black-and-white illustrations. The sisters are diverse in skin color, interests, and magical abilities, and while the story seems predictable, the many circumstances in which the girls find themselves are bound to appeal to readers who wish for a little magic in their own lives.-Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A new, sparkle-packed series introduces magical sisters who control the seasons.Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer are the Sparkles, the magical sisters with themed Sparkle Powers who change the seasons for the Outworlder humans through the Sparkle Ceremony. Autumns the most responsible and cautious of the four, the least likely to join a game of Sparkle-Dare, so its natural for Mother Nature to ask Autumn to be caretaker for a special birthday gift (a beautiful blanket) for her adviser, Serenity. But when Autumn tries to break out of her mold by joining in a game of Sparkle-Dare, she accidentally summons an uncontrollable wind that blows away the precious blanket. The sisters chase it through Winters Sparkledom, where they encounter the villainous Sleet. Sleet is one of the Weeds, a troublemaking set of bad-weather and natural-disasterthemed brothers. The sisters defeat him and continue to chase the blanket throughout the Sparkledoms, only to lose it to Sleets tricky brother, Twister. The Weeds use it to set a trap for the Sparkles, but their inability to work as a team, plus Autumns lesson in discretiondetermining when to leap impulsively and when to stop and plansaves the day for the Sparkles. The blanket safely arrives at the birthday party, as do the villainsbut as welcome guests. Cheerful spot illustrations showcase an ever smiling, diverse cartoon cast.The sheer number of iterations of Sparkle will determine this books audience.Fluffy, wholesome and, well, sparkly. (Fantasy. 7-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
