It’s also pretty morbid in parts (but you’d never know from the cover art!). This is what children’s literature should be: quirky, inventive, and smart. Magaziner’s first book is written for kids, but I think it can also be enjoyable for adults because of its humor and imagination.

What an absolutely fun and original story. I can't wait to read this out loud to my daughter's third grade class this year! The main character, Rupert, has a mom who works as an ice cream flavor taster and ALSO as a writer of fortune cookies fortunes. People don't live on Main Street, they live on Druscle Close.

And her character names are THE BEST: Mrs. Her characters don't walk, they clip-clomp or slump around. Lauren has such a great grasp on middle grade language. I could drown in the adorableness that is this book. Frabbleknacker too, but the witchling's magic will be as useful as a clump of seaweed unless Rupert can figure out a way to help her improve her spellcasting-and fast! She’s determined to help Rupert stand up to dreadful Mrs. With a hankering for lollipops and the magical aptitude of a toad, she needs all the help she can get to pass her exams and become a full-fledged witch. So when he sees an ad to become a witch’s apprentice, Rupert simply can’t resist applying.īut Witchling Two isn’t exactly what Rupert expected. Frabbleknacker, who smells like bellybutton lint and forbids Rupert’s classmates from talking to each other before, during, and after class. The closest he can get to a witchy experience is sitting in class with his awful teacher Mrs. He dreams of broomstick tours and souvenir potions, but Rupert’s mother forbids him from even looking at that part of town. Unfortunately, not thieving is not an option at Pilfer Academy, and 'misbehaving' students face Dean Deanbugle's favorite punishment-the Whirlyblerg! In order to gain their freedom, George and Tabitha must pull the biggest heist the school has ever seen and reveal their true colors not as thieves, but as kind (and, okay, mischievous) kids.Rupert Campbell is fascinated by the witches who live nearby. But everything is ruined when George comes to a shocking realization: He is just too good-hearted to be a thief! Between disguise classes, cracking safes, and DIY gadgets, George becomes an expert bandit and finds true friendship with Tabitha, his new partner-in-crime. The teachers are kooky at best, and naughty does not even begin to describe his sneaky, smart, and morally bankrupt new classmates. Troublemaking George has never heard of Pilfer Academy, a top-secret school for cultivating young crooks, until he's kidnapped as its newest student. Lemencello’s Library and Roald Dahl will gobble up this hilarious story about a secret boarding school for thieves-in-training!

Pilfer Academy by Lauren Magaziner