A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd (review)

Sixth-grader Felicity Pickle and her little sister, Frannie, have high hopes that their move to their mother’s hometown of Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, will finally put a stop to Mama’s wanderings and prove to be a permanent home for the family. Although Felicity has a gift with words, both “seeing” them in the air around people and places and making up poems with them, she gets tongue-tied in public, making it difficult to form friendships. Jonah doesn’t mind, though, and the two become fast friends; their investigation into the rumored fanciful history of the town proves fruitful, revealing the legacy of the magically talented Threadbare Brothers who quarreled, parted ways, and were ever after cursed, thus leaving the town, once full of magic, with only a “snicker” of magic left. Can Felicity figure out how to break the curse, bring magic back to Midnight Gulch, and convince Mama to stay put there? Sure, there are so many coincidences here that you can’t swing a cat without hitting one, but this cozy fantasy reveals its secrets in a satisfyingly folkloric way and the particular manifestations of the town’s magic are intriguing. Language-loving middle-graders will also be enchanted by Felicity’s gift of being able to see words and may be inspired to begin their own “word collections.” The colorful characters and the town’s magical, memory-inducing ice cream will appeal to fans of Law’s Savvy (BCCB 9/08).