Ages 8-12 Awards & Accolades
- A New York Times Best Seller
- An ALA Notable Book
- A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
- An E.B. White Read Aloud Honor Book
- An NPR Best Book of 2014
- An iBooks Best Book of 2014
- A Parents Magazine Best Children’s Book of 2014
- A Top Ten Kids Indie Next Pick
- A Junior Library Guild Selection
- A SIBA Okra Pick
- A SIBA Children’s Book Award Finalist
- The 2015 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Winner for Children’s Literature
- A Mighty Girls Best Book of 2014 for Tweens
- A 2014 Nerdy Book Club Award Winner
- A 2015 Charlotte Huck Recommended Title
- A NYPL Sharable Title for 2014
- A 2016 Georgia Children’s Book Award Winner
Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.
But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck’s about to change. A “word collector,” Felicity sees words everywhere—shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog’s floppy ears—but Midnight Gulch is the first place she’s ever seen the word “home.” And then there’s Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity’s never seen before, words that make Felicity’s heart beat a little faster.
Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she’ll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that’s been cast over the town . . . and her mother’s broken heart.
Reviews
“Whimsical and bewitching … hang on for the ride!” – New York Times Book Review
★ “From every angle, Lloyd’s first novel sparkles and radiates warmth … a reassuring, homespun story about self-expression and the magic that resides in one’s mind and heart.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “A delightful and inspiring debut … As Felicity loves to say, ‘Yes … yes … yes!’” –School Library Journal, starred review
★ “This tale offers all the earmarks of fine storytelling, including colorful, eccentric characters, an original, highly likable narrator and a mighty ‘spindiddly’ plot.” –Kirkus, starred review
★ “In this spellbinding debut novel set in Tennessee, Felicity Juniper Pickle sees magic in the people around her, and her worldview is curiously contagious “ –Shelf Awareness, starred review
“If Harper Lee had set out to write the Great American Fairy Tale, we might have gotten A SNICKER OF MAGIC a half century earlier.” –TheTrades.com
“A SNICKER OF MAGIC belongs in every elementary and middle school collection. Buy it. Gift it. Share it.” – John Schumacher, K-5 School Librarian, mrschureads.blogspot.com
“The magical and the realistic are closely intertwined in such lyrically beautiful language that the story feels like it could happen next door, in an adjoining classroom or on their very own auditorium stage. Felicity Pickle and her friends have the perfect word for awesome. Spindiddly! That’s exactly how I feel about this book.” – The Christian Science Monitor
“Families will love this whimsical, creative, and bewitching book set in a mythical Tennessee city called Midnight Gulch!” – Crissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee (Snicker was Mrs. Haslam’s July 2016, Book of the Month!)
Ages 8-12Did you know?
Did you know President Obama and the first family bought A Snicker of Magic? Snicker was one of the books the first family picked up while shopping at Upsher Books in Washington D.C. on November 28, 2015. (Isn’t it fun to imagine Aunt Cleo and Day Grissom visiting the White House?) Click here for the full story!
TV Adaptation News!
A Snicker of Magic has been optioned for TV by Sony Tristar Television Studios! Award-winning screenwriter Geeta Malik is adapting the pilot episode. Yes, yes, yes! Check back soon for updates!
A Snicker of Magic:The Audiobook
Return to the town of Midnight Gulch via the 2015 ALA Odyssey Honor winning audiobook of A Snicker of Magic, with characters voiced by actress Cassandra Morris.
