The Disappearing Act

October 15, 2021
Grades 1-3 Bessie Lee is tired of being little. She's too small to play on the big swings, too short for the amusement park rides, and too young to be taken seriously by her older sister. But she has a plan: if she can win the first-grade talent show, she'll go on to perform in the schoolwide "Courage to Be Zesty" assembly, which she's sure will make her finally feel bigger. As for a talent, using a magic book that Gramma recently gifted her, she'll become a magician extraordinaire! But when a trick goes awry--she disappears the class hamster and doesn't know how to get him back--Bessie Lee wonders if she actually has the magic it takes to be a star. The story is bright and funny, and the amusing illustrations combine with the brisk pace to keep burgeoning readers engaged and entertained. Bessie Lee is a hilarious, delightfully imperfect narrator, and the family dynamics are kind and true. Proof that the smallest stature can contain a huge imagination and an even bigger heart.

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January 31, 2022
Moore and Si collaborate on a chapter book series starter, introducing the exuberant first grader Bessie Lee, who is of Chinese descent and “likes to be fancy.” When her teacher announces that the First Grade Talent Show is happening in a mere week, engaging narrator Bessie sees it as a grand opportunity to escape her “too teeny” reputation—she’s sick of being shut out of “big-kid stuff” and to have to “sneaky-listen” to be part of her fifth-grader sister Bailey’s world. “If I win the talent show, everyone will think I am big, too.” The high-energy child digs through her favorite pastimes (“cut and style Bailey’s Barbies’ hair, play with Baby Rabbit, and put crayons into Gramma’s soup so it turns rainbow colors”) to find her talent, and settles on a magical disappearing act. But mischief and mishaps abound before all ends well. Short, episodic chapters move quickly alongside Si’s stylized illustrations of the protagonist’s ethnically inclusive community and domestic life, making Bessie Lee’s forthcoming exploits ones to look forward to. Ages 6–10. Author’s agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House.