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A review by eitakdid
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
5.0
This is one of the best children's books I've read in a while. NPH has created an entirely believable cast of characters going on a mission to stop a villainous crew of carnies. Featuring a glowing review from Lemony Snicket, fictional author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, this book actually surpasses that series in my mind because of the characters.
Even as a child, one thing that bothered me about ASOUE is that there we almost NO adults who were good and believed the children. All of the adults missed the warning signs, completely ignored the children, had their own issues consuming them, or were evil. The children save themselves in the end, which is nice and different, but left child-me feeling that I never wanted to be a stupid and ignorant adult.
This book is different. While the villains are adults and the heroes are children, the children receive support from one amazing adult in particular. While he is not the hero, he encourages them to do good. I wonder if NPH's experience on the Netflix show for ASOUE left him looking for an adult who survives to the end to remind the children how important and special they are.
Another thing I liked about this were the magical breaks between some chapters. NPH provides easy to understand steps for children to learn magic tricks. Easy to follow illustrations by Kyle Hilton also help teach these magic lessons. But the main advantage of these magic trick chapters is that they break up the narrative and let the reader breathe for a little. We understand from research that boys in particular have trouble reading in a linear manner until they are older. Many boys and some girls struggle with long chapter books with chapter after chapter of narrative. Graphic novels and the like help them to read in a non-typical way and embraces the differences in interpretation of media. This type of story would be a step up from that, a nice scaffold for children to reach the next level of reading.
All in all, the plot, characters, and style of writing make this a book I will be buying for my school library and recommending to students.
Even as a child, one thing that bothered me about ASOUE is that there we almost NO adults who were good and believed the children. All of the adults missed the warning signs, completely ignored the children, had their own issues consuming them, or were evil. The children save themselves in the end, which is nice and different, but left child-me feeling that I never wanted to be a stupid and ignorant adult.
This book is different. While the villains are adults and the heroes are children, the children receive support from one amazing adult in particular. While he is not the hero, he encourages them to do good. I wonder if NPH's experience on the Netflix show for ASOUE left him looking for an adult who survives to the end to remind the children how important and special they are.
Another thing I liked about this were the magical breaks between some chapters. NPH provides easy to understand steps for children to learn magic tricks. Easy to follow illustrations by Kyle Hilton also help teach these magic lessons. But the main advantage of these magic trick chapters is that they break up the narrative and let the reader breathe for a little. We understand from research that boys in particular have trouble reading in a linear manner until they are older. Many boys and some girls struggle with long chapter books with chapter after chapter of narrative. Graphic novels and the like help them to read in a non-typical way and embraces the differences in interpretation of media. This type of story would be a step up from that, a nice scaffold for children to reach the next level of reading.
All in all, the plot, characters, and style of writing make this a book I will be buying for my school library and recommending to students.