Showing results by author "Lynne Jonell" in All Categories

Emmy was a good girl—too good, perhaps. The rat, whose cage sat on the counter next to Emmy’s desk, was not so good. On the other hand, he was the only one in Emmy’s class who would talk to her. The rest of the kids barely knew she existed. Even her teacher didn’t seem to know she was there! Only her nanny, the lovely-but-sinister Miss Barmy, really pays her much attention.

With a POP! and a puff of smoke, the Willows' lawn mower calls it quits. A new mower will cost their parents a lot of money, money Derek had hoped to borrow for a train ticket to visit a friend. Luckily Derek and his brother and sisters find a rusty push mower tucked away in the shed. It doesn't look like much, but it turns out that it's been soaking up magic for years. And it's hungry for grass!

Chicken? Abner is not a chicken, no matter what his brother Derek says. But when it comes to giving a speech in front of the whole town, Abner is...well...he's more than a little nervous. Then his sister Tate has an idea - bravery lessons. And the first one? Eat a roasted grasshopper. But Abner forgot something important. There's magic in the ground under his family's house and grasshoppers hatch from eggs laid in the ground. So what, exactly, would happen if a kid ate a grasshopper that had been soaking up magic all year long? BOING!

Celia Willow is the baby of the family, and she’s sick of it. She's sick of being younger and smaller. She's sick of never being taken seriously. So when Celia's hamster surprises the Willows with his wish-granting powers, she blurts out her deepest desire. The problem? Celia didn't exactly wish to be furry. Her big brothers and sister can't let their parents see her like this, but they only have one night to fix things. How can Abner, Tate, and Derek reverse something as powerful as hamster magic...before breakfast?

Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet – some days. Honestly, Emmy really was a little too good. Which is why she liked to sit by the Rat. The Rat was not good at all.

Tate Willow is pretty and nice, and most people think she’s smart. But Tate doesn’t feel smart…until she falls into an old well in the backyard and her mind starts working double-time. She sails through her homework and can read a book in minutes. But keeping Tate in line is becoming a full-time job for her brothers and sister. She’s strangely attracted to water of all sorts - streams, sprinklers, waterfalls. Can they get her wild water magic under control?