School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--3--All little purple Sparkleton wants is wish-granting magic; his sister Nella has it, as does most of his family. He hasn't grown into his magic yet, but he knows he would be awesome at granting wishes! When Nella grants him one wish, he wishes for wish-granting abilities for one day. It might be a terrible idea, Nella warns, but she does it anyway. What follows is an enjoyable and upside-down enchanted journey through Sparkleton's day as he goes around granting his friends' wishes--sort of. Will Sparkleton learn the most important rule of magic-- that it's to make others happy--before the day is over? VERDICT With adorable graphics and encouraging unicorns at the end of the chapters, Sparkleton is about to take elementary libraries by (glittery) storm.--Amanda C. Buschmann, Carroll Elementary School, Houston
Kirkus Review
A unicorn gains wish-granting powers--that malfunction. Sparkleton, a young rule-hating unicorn, wants a shortcut to gaining the ability to grant wishes. His sister has that ability, though, and despite her "Goody Two-horseshoes" aversion to rule-breaking, Sparkleton successfully nags her into granting his wish for wish-granting powers of his own for a day. Delighted, he rushes off to show off his new powers to his fellow young unicorn friends. Unsurprisingly, wish after wish goes wrong in comical ways. Once Sparkleton realizes that the opposite of each wish is happening, he has his friends wish for the opposite of their wish-created problems in order to repair the damage he's done. He finds, though, that it's not so easy to restore the status quo. Finally, Sparkleton realizes that the wish problem is caused by his self-centered focus instead of a desire to make his wishers happy, and now he can fix the problems he's caused. Sparkleton's flaws make him an accessible character and offer a good source of low-stakes tension. The other unicorns are colorful and easy to differentiate in the illustrations through varied shapes and silhouettes, and his best friends in particular have strong personalities. Careful design elements, such as end-of-chapter progress markers, encourage new readers along. Book 2, The Glitter Parade, publishes simultaneously. A quirky new series that's strong out of the gate. (Fantasy. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
