Lucy Lancaster has a secret

Review by Booklist Review

Second grade is business as usual for Lucy Lancaster until "a big, loud hiccup" and tingly toes signal the awakening of the Brewster Elementary student's magical powers. Lucy's paired with contrarian classmate Bryce for a science project, though she'd much rather work with besties Heidi or Bruce. After a series of school day incidents when Lucy's wishes suddenly come true, librarian Ms. Egli clues Lucy in: magic has chosen Lucy, and a golden library card grants Lucy access to the Magical Library, where she can learn about her new "witch magic." Lucy's sweet perspective on controlling what you can (like your first spell) and rolling with the rest lends a gentle social-emotional learning lesson to this series starter. Short chapters, a large font size with generous spacing and margins, simple vocabulary, and black-and-white cartoon artwork on every spread all suit new readers, and fans of the Heidi Heckelbeck series will particularly relish kindhearted Lucy's story line. Books are magic, and Lucy's hiccups surely won't spell trouble for long!

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 1--4--Lucy Lancaster looks and acts like an average second grader. She is smart, a good friend, and an expert at Super Flag Tag. Lucy also has a very special secret that she discovers accidentally. When she learns that students will be teaming up to watch a caterpillar transform into a butterfly, Lucy wants to be paired with best friend Heidi. Instead, she is partnered with Bryce Beltran, and the two girls are not happy. When Bryce says Tony is a boring name for a caterpillar, Lucy gets upset and starts to hiccup. Suddenly, Bryce thinks it's a great name for a handsome caterpillar. Strange events continue to happen throughout the day, each one after a case of the hiccups. Could something magical be happening to Lucy? Like the "Heidi Hecklebeck" books, this series opener is perfect for early and reluctant readers. The format is a great intro to chapter books: vocabulary is simple but includes some challenging words, the fun stories are interesting, and the chapters are an ideal length to hold attention. The illustrations are full of animation and expression. This is a good read-aloud, even for youngsters to read to their adults. VERDICT Early readers will be looking forward to reading Lucy's next adventure.--Barbara Spiri

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Meet Lucy Lancaster, best friend of series superstar Heidi Heckelbeck. Though Heidi appears in this book, along with the girls' other BFF, Bruce Bickerson, Lucy takes center stage. After Mrs. Welli assigns Bryce Beltran to be Lucy's science class partner, Bryce isn't pleased--both girls wanted to work with their own friends--and all but slams her desk into Lucy's. Lucy wishes she could have a more polite and compliant partner like Heidi or Bruce. Suddenly she begins hiccupping, and Bryce instantly becomes sweetly agreeable. This is wonderful…isn't it? More strange things occur; Lucy's perplexed. Then she hiccups again and inadvertently finds herself sowing classroom chaos. Ms. Egli, the alert town librarian who's visiting the class, notices, gives Lucy a golden library card with access to the Magical Library, and helps her to understand her powers. Like Heidi (though neither girl is yet aware of the other's gift), Lucy is a witch! Engaging characters, a well-crafted setting, and quick pacing perfectly suit the target audience; Lucy promises to be a popular series star herself. Burris' many illustrations portray Lucy with black curls, brown skin, and star-festooned glasses. Bryce and Ms. Egli are brown-skinned; most other figures are light-skinned. This series spinoff still brings the magic.(Early chapter book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter 1  SEIZE THE DAY       Lucy Lancaster was the first student to arrive at her second-grade classroom in Brewster Elementary. Just like she had been first yesterday. And just like she would be first tomorrow!   "Good morning, Mrs. Welli," Lucy said to her teacher.       Then she went over to the classroom's fish tank and looked through the glass. There were plants, coral, and shimmering gravel. And so many kinds of fish!   "Good morning, fishies," Lucy said. "Ready for breakfast?"   Feeding the fish was one bonus of getting to class early.   Lucy sprinkled just the right amount of fish food into the tank. As she closed the lid, a little bit of water splashed on her glasses.       She pulled a small cloth from her pocket to clean off the water. It had star patterns all over it, which matched the stars on her frames. She always carried the cloth around to be prepared for moments like this.   Lucy looked through her sparkling clean glasses and noticed some containers sitting on the back table.       "Wow! Are those caterpillars?" she asked.   "Yes," Mrs. Welli answered. "We'll be observing how caterpillars transform into butterflies."   This was another bonus of getting to class early. Being the first to learn about new science units!           "Ooh, I love butterflies!" said someone behind Lucy. She didn't even have to turn around to know it was the voice of Heidi Heckelbeck.   "Hi, Heidi! I like your headband," Lucy said.   "I like yours, too." Heidi giggled.   It wasn't hard to tell that Lucy and Heidi were best friends.   Especially when they wore matching headbands to school!   Heidi waved to the caterpillars.   "I hope we'll see them make cocoons," she said.   "A caterpillar doesn't make a cocoon," said Bruce Bickerson. He put down his backpack before joining Heidi and Lucy at the back table.   Bruce was Lucy's other best friend. He and Lucy had been buddies since even before Lucy met Heidi.       "A caterpillar makes a chrysalis," Bruce explained.   "Chris-uh-liss," Lucy repeated. "Bruce, is there anything you DON'T know?"   Bruce grinned. "I don't know!"   When class finally started, Mrs. Welli had an announcement.   "I'm going to break you all into pairs," she explained. "Each pair will get their own caterpillars to observe."   A partner! Lucy thought, tapping her toes with excitement.       Then Mrs. Welli announced, "Lucy Lancaster and Bryce Beltran, you two will be working together."   Oh no . In that moment, Lucy wished she had a magic wand.   If she had one, she would magically become partners with Heidi. Or Bruce. Or anyone else.       But magic wasn't real. So Lucy had no choice.   She was stuck with Bryce.       Excerpted from Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret by Willow Coven All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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