Abracadabra!: The Magic of Trying

PreS-Gr 2—Little Owl is the only bird left on his school's tree branch who has not abandoned his comfortable perch to fly. Blackbird, Robin, Sparrow, and several others have successfully made the leap, but Owl is much too afraid of failure. Turtle boosts his confidence by persuading him to use the word Abracadabra to launch himself. He makes several fruitless attempts, the first time mispronouncing the magic word, and the second jumping with his eyes closed. Ultimately, Owl musters all of his will to take flight, proving that there is great power in continuous effort. Soon after, he quickly shares his newfound approach with Little Frog to help him overcome his own fear of jumping into the pond. Encouraging children to take small, incremental steps to accomplish big tasks is an important lesson that is cheerfully presented in this optimistic picture book. The story is enhanced by intricate, swirly collage illustrations. Children will undoubtedly notice that Owl steadily changes color throughout, from purple to bright pink to orange to blue, until his final appearance in green. This kaleidoscope of colors changes just about as readily as his progressive mastery of the task at hand. The story emphasizes the power of bite-size steps to accomplish what might initially seem like monumentally difficult tasks. The added help from friends is proven to be as important, or more so, than a magic word. A final note to parents and caregivers describes various uses of the book and strategies one might implement to overcome challenges.