Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
The Magician's Bird
Emily Fairlie · 2013
81/100
👍 Worth It
Fairlie's multi-format storytelling with lists, notes, and prose keeps the mystery lively and fresh, and the mechanical bird is exactly the kind of clever puzzle device that makes a mystery memorable. School Library Journal and Kirkus both gave it strong notices and noted improved pacing over Book 1. Middle-grade mystery fans who love Chasing Vermeer or The Westing Game have a very good time waiting here.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety92
substance78
craft82
originality78
accuracy80
hype74
age-fit86
human-eye82
Penny’s verdict81
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