Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
More magic and mayhem as comic Cold Cereal epic continues.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Picking up where Cold Cereal left off, UNLUCKY CHARMS starts with the sudden disappearance into thin air of scientist Samantha Doe, whose kids Scott and Polly, along with their friends Erno and Emily and long-absent father John, had many mad adventures in the series opener. A crazy roller-coaster of a plot ensues, complete with frequent flashbacks giving the back story on some characters and even more frequent leaps from country to country. Once again, Arthurian-era nymph Nimue is bent on taking over the human world for the fairies, time-traveling accountant/wizard Merle Lynn is out to foil the plot, and it's all connected to pink dragons, weird food additives, the Queen of England, and the Goodco Cereal Company. A cliffhanger ending sets up the series finale.
Is It Any Good?
Those who haven't read Cold Cereal may find themselves at sea with the roster of quirky characters behaving strangely, as well as much world-building in the first book that's essential here. Author Rex is clever, funny, and inclined to throw everything but the kitchen sink -- including time shifts, wisecracks, family drama, mythology, and more wisecracks -- at the reader, which might not be every kid's dish but will have others in heaven. Rex's black-and-white illustrations help bring the characters and their predicaments to life.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the relationship between fairies and humans in Unlucky Charms. What other books have you read that involve interaction between the fairy and the human worlds?
Do you see any similarities in how Goodco Cereal Company develops and markets doctored food to achieve world domination and other real-life products and advertising?
Have you ever had an experience like the Doe kids -- of someone returning after being gone a long time? What was great about it, and what was hard?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Adam Rex
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales ) , Superheroes , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Balzer + Bray
- Publication date : February 5, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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