(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Maggie Stiefvater. Pip and friends visit Port Candor, where Pip's ability to talk to magical animals is put to use with sea-dwellers including Spinnerseals, Slimekrakens, and, helpfully, a misunderstood sea monster. As usual for this appealing middle-grade series (Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures and others), there's plenty of clever humor stemming from the creatures' quirks, particularly on the black-and-white-illustrated pages from Pip's favorite book, Jeffrey Higgleston's Guide to Magical Creatures.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Maggie Stiefvater. Pip, who can understand magical creatures, is stuck caring for Regent Maximus, an unimpressive unicorn, at the Triple Trident show. To make matters worse, unicorn tails start disappearing. Fans of Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures will find the same appealing characters (human and otherwise) and the same creative silliness, complete with black-and-white field-guide drawings from the imaginary animal kingdom.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax