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- author Jackie French

Thursday 17 March 2016

Review: Ruby Wishfingers - Skydancer's Escape (Ruby Wishfingers #1)

Nine-year-old Ruby Wishfingers has an extraordinary name and likes to think about extraordinary things, but her father tells her she should be focusing on ordinary things like school and homework and strawberry jam sandwiches.

When Ruby’s fingers start to itch and tingle, she can’t help but wonder if something extraordinary is going to happen. Granny Wishfingers tells Ruby that she has inherited the magical Wishfingers ability to have magical wishes come true, but Granny warns her that sometimes wishes aren’t as wonderful as they seem and advises Ruby to be very careful what she wishes for.

Of course Ruby can’t wait to make her first wish and she tries very hard to pick something that won’t cause any problems. She wishes that her favourite soft toy, a unicorn called Skydancer, would come to life. How much trouble could a sparkly unicorn cause?

Filled with wonderful, quirky characters, lots of humour, and troublesome wishfingers, Ruby Wishfingers: Skydancer’s Escape is the first book in an entertaining new junior fiction series by Deborah Kelly.

Ruby is a very appealing main character. She is confident and energetic with a great imagination and an infectious sense of fun. Granny Wishfingers, who lives in a caravan in the front garden, is a mentor to Ruby and Granny’s cat, a giant Maine Coon called Jupiter, is a grumpy distraction.

Ruby’s adventures are shared with lots of humour as her plans to make carefully considered wishes go awry. While Ruby’s magical adventure is fun, there are also lessons for her to learn and the book ends with a very subtle message about the importance of dealing with the consequences of your decisions.

Skydancer’s Escape is a wonderful introduction to Ruby and her magical talents. I’m looking forward reading more of Ruby’s adventures in future books and Ruby Wishfinger fans should keep an eye out for the second book in the series, Ruby Wishfingers: Toad-ally Magic, which will be available soon.

Title: Ruby Wishfingers: Skydancer's Escape (Ruby Wishfingers #1)
Author: Deborah Kelly
Illustrator: Leigh Hedstrom
Publisher: Wombat Books, $9.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 March 2016
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781925139631
For ages: 6 - 9
Type: Junior Fiction