Serendipity Market

April 1, 2009
Gr 6-9-Mama Inez and her dog live "in a house at the end of the world." Realizing that things are "out of tilt," they send out 10 invitations to the far corners of the Earth, asking the recipients to participate in the Serendipity Marketa gathering in which they each tell a story and bring a talisman so that the world's "spin" can be brought back into balance. Nine folks come, and the bulk of the book is made up of their stories. When the group has finished, the world is set right again, and the participants return to their homes, richer for the experiences they've shared. Blubaugh's first novel is a fantasy that interweaves the magical powers of Mama Inez with the stories of familiar folk- and fairy-tale characters. "The Colors of Lightning," the story of Slew Foot Sue and Pecos Bill; "Carter House," a version of the Scottish "Tam Lin"; and "Conversions," a typical Celtic tale of the love between a human and a merman, are kept basically intact. "The Lizard's Tale" reveals Cinderella's story according to the lizard who reluctantly becomes her coachman, and in "Lost," the elves explain why they helped the poor shoemaker and his wife. Other stories add surprising twists to traditional tales. While the beginning of the book is rather hard to follow, the tales themselves move at a good pace, and the protagonists are three-dimensional versions of their well-known counterparts. A good choice for collections in which fairy-tale retellings are popular."Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2009
Mystical Mama Inez presides over a gathering of storytellers invited to re-balance the world on its axis by sharing their tales. Essentially a short-story collection within the frame of a novel, this lyrical, thought-provoking debut adapts fairy- and folktales, presenting each with an inspired twist or new perspective: Cinderella's footman, for example, laments his transformation from lizard to man.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 15, 2009
Grades 6-10 Stories make the world go around in Blubaughs debut novel. Sometimes, when the world tilts off its axis, only the magical power of story can put things back to right. Thats where Mama Inez steps in. Using her gift of entering peoples lives in subtle yet mysterious ways, she gathers an eclectic group together for a night of storytelling. Each invited guest provides a talisman and a story, and together they set the world back to its rightful state. Weaving together unique variants of traditional tales, such as The Princess and the Pea, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, and Cinderella, this beautiful novel will be a delight to those who enjoy spin-offs of fairy tales and folktales. Readers will find themselves flipping back and forth to figure out how all the different stories hidden in the fold come together to form the greater whole of this charming book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)