Abby Carnelia`s One and Only Magical Power (Reinforced Hardcover)

New York Times columnist Pogue debuts with the charming story of 11-year-old Abby," who discovers that she is a part of ""a rare", very special breed of children who can bend the laws of nature-in tiny," pointless ways."" Her ability? Making a hardboiled egg spin when she tugs on her earlobes. Eager to make sense of this ""power", she attends a summer camp for magicians," and is soon sent on to a ""Super Camp"" for kids with similar supernatural abilities. It quickly becomes apparent that the camp is a front for a darker operation", and Abby and other gifted campers (one can fog up a window by counting by twos in Spanish in a weird voice; another can levitate, slightly, by imagining buffalos walking backwards in diapers) find purpose in their seemingly pointless powers. One gets the sense that Pogue family in-jokes may be a source for some of the dialogue, and the author even inserts himself into the story. But this in no way diminishes the kid-pleasing nature of Pogue's brand of humor or the message that all gifts, no matter how absurd they seem, have value. Ages 8-12. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved