Arabella and the Magic Pencil

This is a beautiful book! the illustrations are fantastic and this is a childhood book that you will keep

I bought this book as a present for my God daughter’s birthday, and she loved it. She has since read it over several times.Arabella, the only child of a Duke and Duchess was used to getting everything she wished for, including a magic pencil. That is until she got a baby brother. Although she loved him, he was often a nuisance a siblings are. Any child who has brothers or sisters will understand that.When out of frustration she wishes him away, she immediately regrets it and has to make a big effort to get him back. The illustrations are great. The way the colours changed to a darker and gloomy tone when Avery, her brother was erased made it clear how upset and lonely Arabella had become.Arabella realises her mistake and comes up with a great solution to get him back. Everything turns out happily in the end, with a valuable lesson learnt. This is a great book for children, which has a subtle message about family. I’d highly recommend it.

Bought for my niece’s birthday and she loved it. Lovely quality and beautiful illustrations

Beautiful book! Perfect to help children learn how important their siblings are to them. Story is beautifully written and illustrations are incredible. Really love this book

Great illustrations

Arabella and the Magic Pencil tells the tale of a princess granted a wish every now and then. The canny main character realises she can effectively wish for more wishes by asking for a magic pencil that can create (or erase) anything she can imagine.Things get complicated when, after a round of arty wish-fulfilment, Arabella has a momentary flash of annoyance at her disruptive little brother. Turning the magic pencil around, she rubs him out of existence...I'm an older sister and I can attest to the fact that beneath this flight of fancy lies a truth that will strike a chord with many younger readers. Family legend has it that, when my brother was brought home from the hospital, my toddler-self turned to my parents and said: "I like him and everything, but can we take him back now?"Fortunately, my baby brother was not stuffed back into wherever he'd come from, because with hindsight, I'm glad he stuck around. Arabella has a similar epiphany, sketched out in lively, descriptive prose.The language is wonderful, utilising clever rhythms and tantalising alliteration. The vocabulary is deep, which is a good thing: young readers should be exposed to unusual words. The story is heartfelt and charming. On top of that, the illustrations are whimsical, detailed and characterful, ensuring that non-readers can follow along as their parents read the story out loud.Overall, a lovely book and one that deserves a spot in the favourites pile.

This is such a lovely picture book and one which I’m sure all children would love! ‘Arabella and the Magic Pencil’ in hardback is a good size, a little wider than an A4 piece of paper, and square, and is filled with thick glossy pages of some really beautiful illustrations and text. Arabella is the only child of a Duke and Duchess, and every year she receives a new gift from her doting parents. She loves every gift she gets, but one day, something arrives that Arabella wasn’t expecting, a baby brother.The book is a perfect one to give to children who are expecting to or dealing with new baby brothers or sisters. Although all children will love the story, it’s an especially important one to share with kids who might not be coping well with the idea of a new baby in the house. As the story continues, Arabella gets a magic pencil, one that can bring to life anything she creates, but her brother Avery ruins every moment of Arabella’s life and one day she has had enough of him. She erases her brother with the magic pencil. But is her life really that good with Avery gone? The story is a well told one, and I don’t think there are any spoilers in telling you that life without Avery isn’t as Arabella expected it.The illustrations are really beautiful, I just love the detail in them all, how lovely they look and the wonderful expressions on everyone’s faces. The pictures get even more magical towards the middle and end of the story, when you see the things that Arabella creates with her magic pencil. I especially love how the colour in the pages reflects the mood in the story and how it changes when Avery is gone. There are lots of little details to look at in the pictures, things to spot and I do love how the images really do make you feel the emotions of the story.Although not a part of the book you get, I have been made aware that if you visit the publisher’s website there are bonus extras that children can engage with. You can go on the website and print off some fun colouring pages, or some paper dolls of Arabella and Avery with two outfits each (one of the two being one you can design and colour in yourself). I like these added extras as they offer children some more chances for creativity.The ending is obviously a good and ultimately happy one, in fact I thought it was so lovely I couldn’t stop smiling after reading this. The message of dealing with new siblings is also well told and I really like the way this has been done in this book. I’ve seen several picture books that address issues of younger siblings, giving an ultimate positive ending of course, but this is definitely a favourite of mine and one I would recommend.-Thanks to EK Books for a free copy for review.