Jim Henson's Enchanted Sisters: Autumn's Secret Gift

by Elise Allen, Halle Stanford

Overview

Sisters Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer are nature's royalty. In Mother Nature's realm, they're responsible for each magical turn of the seasons. When they're not keeping all of nature in balance, the girls play, imagine, and explore their way around their enchanted world. And though they love harmony, the sisters often cross paths with the Weeds - wild boys who bring trouble with them wherever they go.

This charming new series comes from The Jim Henson Company and is perfectly suited for newly independent readers who love the Rainbow Fairies and Candy Fairies series. The series launches with Autumn when she loses a special gift from Mother Nature. Can the sisters find the gift before Mother Nature's party?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619632547
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	08/05/2014
Series:	Enchanted Sisters
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Elise Allen is author of Enid Blyton's Enchanted World series and the young adult novel Populazzi. She is also co-writer of Devoted and The New York Times Bestselling Elixir, by Hilary Duff. She lives in Los Angeles. www.eliseallen.com

Halle Stanford, an eight time Emmy-nominated children's television producer, is in charge of creating children's entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. She currently serves as the Executive Producer on the award winning series Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Pajanimals, and Doozers. She lives in Los Angeles.

Paige Pooler is an artist whose illustrative work can be found in American Girl magazine, as well as the Liberty Porter, Trading Faces, and My Sister is a Vampire middle grade series. www.paigepooler.com

The Jim Henson Company is an established leader in family entertainment for over fifty years and is the creator of such Emmy-nominated hits as Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Pajanimals, and Fraggle Rock. They are currently developing this series as an animated TV property.

Editorial Reviews

Bound to appeal to readers who wish for a little magic in their own lives.” —School Library Journal

“Fluffy, wholesome and, well, sparkly.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Lessons about cooperation and impulsivity are cheerfully served up by authors Allen and Stanford in this speedy adventure. Goofy cartoon illustrations that showcase the diverse cast of characters complement this sweet, sparkly story.” —Booklist

“The fast-paced story will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.” —School Library Journal, on Elixir (coauthored by Elise Allen and Hilary Duff)

From the Publisher

05/01/2014
Gr 1–3—Autumn and her wide-eyed Sparkle sisters—Spring, Summer, and Winter—live in Mother Nature's realm. They are responsible for the magical turn of the seasons for the Outworlders, or humans, who have no idea the Sparkles exist. When not keeping nature in balance, the sisters play in their enchanted world, often crossing paths with Bluster Tempest and the Weeds, wild boys who love chaos and causing trouble for the sisters. This new series, created by The Jim Henson Company and aimed at newly independent chapter book readers, launches with Autumn's Secret Gift,in which Autumn's responsible temperament is put to the test when she loses a special gift given to her by Mother Nature. Working together, the girls must retrieve Autumn's gift quickly. Readers of Daisy Meadow's "Rainbow Magic" books will love this fast-paced adventure intermingled with devoted animals, transporting rainbows, and black-and-white illustrations. The sisters are diverse in skin color, interests, and magical abilities, and while the story seems predictable, the many circumstances in which the girls find themselves are bound to appeal to readers who wish for a little magic in their own lives.—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN

School Library Journal

2014-05-28
A new, sparkle-packed series introduces magical sisters who control the seasons.Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer are the Sparkles, the magical sisters with themed Sparkle Powers who change the seasons for the Outworlder humans through the Sparkle Ceremony. Autumn’s the most responsible and cautious of the four, the least likely to join a game of Sparkle-Dare, so it’s natural for Mother Nature to ask Autumn to be caretaker for a special birthday gift (a beautiful blanket) for her adviser, Serenity. But when Autumn tries to break out of her mold by joining in a game of Sparkle-Dare, she accidentally summons an uncontrollable wind that blows away the precious blanket. The sisters chase it through Winter’s Sparkledom, where they encounter the villainous Sleet. Sleet is one of the Weeds, a troublemaking set of bad-weather– and natural-disaster–themed brothers. The sisters defeat him and continue to chase the blanket throughout the Sparkledoms, only to lose it to Sleet’s tricky brother, Twister. The Weeds use it to set a trap for the Sparkles, but their inability to work as a team, plus Autumn’s lesson in discretion—determining when to leap impulsively and when to stop and plan—saves the day for the Sparkles. The blanket safely arrives at the birthday party, as do the villains—but as welcome guests. Cheerful spot illustrations showcase an ever smiling, diverse cartoon cast.The sheer number of iterations of “Sparkle” will determine this book’s audience.Fluffy, wholesome and, well, sparkly. (Fantasy. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews