Jane and the Magician

Jane, the dragon-riding knight, saves the magic.

Author: Martin Baynton Pages: 32 Publisher: Candlewick Press Published Date: 02/13/2007 Genre: Fiction - Adventure PB Price: $4.99 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: 4+ Read Aloud: 4+ Read Alone: 6+

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this is one more episode in the Jane and the Dragon adventures that was made into a children's TV show. It helps to read the Jane and the Dragon book first to know how Jane became a "fully qualified, highly trained knight."

Families can talk about anything to do with knights, dragons, magicians, and castles. Parents and kids might also talk about anger and how it caused the magician to do more harm than good. What happened when his anger got the best of him? Have you ever acted like he did: angry, stomping off, and actually making things worse? Also, the magician had the hardest time getting rid of the anger he felt toward himself. Why? Do you think it's true that just saying you're sorry isn't enough? Kids might be a little confused about why the magician's anger helped him regain his magical power to bring down the rain. Parents might discuss the connections between storms, thunder, and the way anger feels. Older kids might enjoy a discussion of metaphors as well as the alliteration the author uses.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Patricia Tauzer

In this second of his Jane books, Martin Baynton takes Jane on another knightly adventure, using the same delicate-yet-strong color pencil drawings to illustrate the high-minded, tough-spirited energy of this brave girl-knight who is ready to take on the world and its problems. Now a true knight, Jane steps in to the serious business of making things just and fair while the rest of the court is caught up in the silliness of its own narcissism.

This story, fun though it may be, has an uneven tone and is confusing at times. For example, at one point Baynton uses clever alliteration that sounds like a nursery rhyme ("babies in buckets and pigs in pots"), supposedly showing that the magician has gone mad with his rain-making powers. And why the dragon falls from the sky also takes some explaining. Maybe these parts would make more sense animated in the TV show.

On the other hand, when the magician realizes what he's done and apologizes, Jane's message is very clear: just saying you're sorry isn't enough. You must also make things right again. For her insistence on justice alone, kids will relate to Jane as a hero. In her adventures, everyone learns something, and ultimately a just and happy order is restored.

From The Book

"Wake up!" cried Jane. But the dragon didn't wake up. The thunderclap had closed his eyes and closed his ears, and he hit the flood with a terrible splash. Jane tried to keep his head above the water, but it was impossible. She was sinking herself, pulled down by the weight of her armor.

Plot Summary:

When the court magician goes missing, the knighted Jane and the dragon are called in to find him. Their adventures take them to the countryside where they find more problems than they anticipated. As is typical in a Jane adventure, the young knight bravely faces almost insurmountable difficulties, lessons are learned, and all works out in the end.