Magical Books for Transitioning Readers
Sometimes it can be difficult to find books for the student who has outgrown leveled readers, but is not quite ready for full-fledged chapter books. Here are some excellent alternatives to help your students through the transition. These series hit the sweet spot just like magic!
Bella Broomstick #2: School Spells By Lou Kuenzler
Bella Broomstick is back. But she’s no longer in the Magic Realm; she’s now living in the Person World. She loves her new home and her foster parents, Aunty Rose and Uncle Martin. She has a new best friend named Esme—a girl from school, who lives in a windmill! With Esme by her side, Bella is finding Person school to be really fun and not as scary as she thought it would be.
But chaos erupts when Piers Seymour, the biggest bully in school, mocks Esme’s very human (and unsuccessful) magic tricks. Bella secretly casts a real spell (hint: it involves a lot of bunnies), but it doesn’t go the way she had planned. Now she has to use even more magic to restore order in the Person World! And she has to do it all in secret—no one can ever know she’s a witch.
Dragons in a Bag By Zetta Elliott
When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she’s not his grandmother—but she isa witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they’ll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don’t let them out of the bag, and don’t feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get the baby dragons delivered safe and sound? Or will they be lost in Brooklyn forever?
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Ella Brook can’t wait to grow up, because one day she will become a fairy and have her own sparkly wings and a teacher on Fairy Tube, just like her mom! Until then, Ella has to learn by watching her mom in action.
But sometimes spells go wrong, and Ella’s mom can never seem to remember the right magic codes on her Computawand. A lot of the time, it’s up to Ella to come to the rescue. Does she have what it takes to be a fairy one day? Or will there be more glitches than glitter?
Isadora Moon Has a Birthday By Harriet Muncaster
Isadora Moon might be half-fairy, half-vampire, but she wants to have a totally normal human birthday party. She gives her mom and dad a list—cake, balloons, presents, and games.
But when the invitations arrive on bats’ wings, Isadora worries that maybe her parents don’t know how to throw a human party. Which can mean only one thing: Isadora’s birthday is going to be anything but normal!
Hurricane Heroes in Texas By Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by AG Ford
Jack and Annie are on a mission! When the magic tree house whisks them back to Galveston, Texas, in 1900, they find out that a big storm is coming. But even though there is rain and wind, no one believes there is any danger. As the storm grows, seawater floods the city. Now everyone needs help! Jack and Annie have a little bit of magic and a lot of hope—but will it be enough?
