Gone with the Wand

Kindergarten-Grade 3-When the world's top fairy godmother loses her magical powers, her tooth-fairy friend attempts to help her find a new gig: sugarplum fairy, snow fairy-but nothing works for the plump pixie. Then her pal hatches a plan to find a job that is totally necessary for the good of family sleep and harmony-tucking children into bed as a "Goodnight, Sleeptight, Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Fairy Godmother!" The overlong story, told in the tooth fairy's ditzy and slightly sassy voice, features the usual Palatini puns and wanders lazily along to the conclusion. Ajhar has created distinctive characters, and the full-color spreads are dominated by magenta and blue hues. Older children familiar with fairy godmothers from classic tales may appreciate this fairy's dilemma more than young children do, but it's hard to say if they will care.