You never know when magic will hatch.... Poor Theodora Oglethorpe! Her biologist father has gone off to explore the jungles of Laos without her, her best friends are away on vacation, and a long, hot, lonely Boston summer is all she has to look forward to. Poor Gideon! Wycca, his pet wyvern, has disappeared through a magic hole in time in search of a place to lay her egg. Kobold, Gideon's wizard rival, wants nothing more than to get his hands on Wycca. In a desperate attempt to rescue Wycca from Kobold's evil clutches, Gideon follows her through the magic hole #191; and finds himself transported from thirteenth-century England to the terrifyingly modern world of Boston, Massachusetts, in the twenty-first century. Soon Theodora's involved with a chocoholic baby wyvern, a mysterious wyvern playing card, a couple of desperate wizards -- and the summer vacation of her life! Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 4-7-Wycca, a small dragon called a wyvern, is looking for the perfect place to lay her egg when she stumbles into a bolt-hole that transports her from 13th-century England to 21st-century Boston. Although she is quite unbothered by this change in locale and proceeds to lay her egg, her wizard Gideon needs to find her fast, before the evil wizard Kobold and his demon can locate her and use her against him. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Theodora, an avid fan of a game called Wizards & Wyverns, finds a magical card and unwittingly summons Wycca's hatchling, which draws all the other magical folk to her, as well. The delight of this fantasy lies in the interactions of the well-drawn characters and in the fluid, skillful writing. The attempts of Gideon and his 21st-century wizard ally, the pompous but good-hearted Professor Merlin of Harvard University, to work traditional magic using modern materials are entertaining, as is Wycca's preoccupation with obtaining chocolate, her newfound addiction. Theodora's part in the plot is a bit forced, as are some of the circumstances and characters surrounding her, and there are a great many coincidences, including a plethora of modern-day wizards who are always right where they need to be. Those quibbles aside, this is a charming fantasy that will appeal to fans of Diana Wynne Jones. An extra bonus is Rayyan's artwork that heads each chapter, depicting the wyvern egg and the hatchling that emerges from it.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 4-6. When Wycca, a wyvern mother-to-be, enters a magical bolt-hole in another place and time in search of a hidden nesting place, her master, Gideon, a thirteenth-century wizard, follows and finds himself in a confusing twenty-first-century Boston. His archrival, Kobold, follows, too, hoping to locate the wyvern, who can be used as a powerful weapon against Gideon if she falls into enemy hands. At the same time, 11-year-old Bostonian Theodora Oglethorpe is facing a boring summer with the housekeeper, Mikko, while her widower father is on an expedition and her two best friends are away. Theodora, who has long aspired to join Wyvernkeeper's Circle, finds the wyvern hatchling and becomes embroiled in the battle between Gideon and Kobold for possession of Wycca. With likable characters, and laced with plenty of humor and adventure, Downer's fantasy will have solid appeal for young genre fans. SallyEstes. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

1. A Rabbit Hole through Time	1
2. Theodora, Known as Dodo	11
3. The Wizard of Harvard Square	22
4. The Usefulness of Wyverns	33
5. The Forgotten Art of Fetching	47
6. A Perfectly Good Substitute for Eye of Newt	59
7. A Talent for Trouble	70
8. An Unfortunate Fortune	78
9. A Dragon in the Bathtub	86
10. More Than One Way to Fetch a Wyvern	97
11. Wyvern's Milk	111
12. A Wizard's Trump	121
13. Make a Wish	132
14. Demonizing Mikko	147
15. The Rescue	161
16. Sanctuary	175
17. The Care and Feeding of Young Wyverns	190
18. Pitfall	201
19. In Kobold's Grip	211
20. Where's Wycca?	220
21. Gwynlyn's Isle	231

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.