June 18, 2019
Marigold Star
story and pictures by Elise Primavera
Marigold Star is destined for greatness. Everyone in Bramblycrumbly thinks so, from her parents to her pet dragon, Lightning. There’s just one problem. Marigold can’t do magic! (She can barely keep track of her magic wand.)

Then one day, Marigold tries a new spell she finds in a very old book. It’s called the Invis-o-friend Spell, and it’s supposed to make Marigold invisible to all but the friend who needs her most. To Marigold’s surprise, the spell actually works! But more surprising still: it sends her to the human world.

Now there’s another problem.

To reverse the spell and get back home to Bramblycrumbly, Marigold will have to befriend a host of human children who—for different reasons—are not the best at making friends. And Marigold will have to hurry, or the line between her magical world and the human world might crumble until she has no home left to go back to.

With sparkling wit and whimsical illustrations, Elise Primavera spins a magical story with all the makings of a classic, perfect for anyone who has ever been a friend in need—or just needed a friend
Praise for Marigold Star
KIRKUS REVIEW
  • An upbeat little girl embarks on a quest to discover her magical power.
  • Marigold Star quite literally has “a star above her head,” a “sure sign,” according to her parents, that she’s “marked for greatness.” While gregarious Marigold makes friends easily, she has problems. She hasn’t mastered flying or invisibility, she keeps misplacing her magic wand, a new baby sister has disrupted her home life, and her star is blinking. She seeks advice from Granny Cabbage, who urges Marigold to discover her magical power and warns her to never let her wand fall into human hands. After her wand vanishes during a failed spell, Marigold invokes another spell to make her invisible to all but one special friend who needs her the most. Instantly, Marigold finds herself in the Human World, invisible to all except Winnie, a nasty, friendless girl who has Marigold’s wand and refuses to return it—which threatens to trap Marigold in the Human World. Nevertheless, Marigold befriends Winnie as well as other friendless kids and creatures she encounters as she tries to regain her wand. Somehow Primavera succeeds in writing a preternaturally good protagonist who is nevertheless likable, and although she flirts with the twee throughout, she never succumbs to it. Black-and-white illustrations capture Marigold’s whimsical friends, both magical and human; she and Winnie present white, but illustrations suggest some secondary characters of color.
  • A humorous, affirming middle-grade fantasy extolling friendships (especially imaginary ones).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • Marigold lives in magical Brambly- crumbly with her parents, baby sister, and talking pet dragon, Lightning, and she has a number of problems. There’s the star over her head that has everyone convinced Marigold is “marked for greatness” and that has recently begun blinking, but Marigold doesn’t seem great at anything. She’s too frightened to even do a basic invisibility or flying spell, and her new sister steals all the attention at home. After Marigold loses her wand, she finds herself in the dangerous human world, with only the aid of a spell book from Granny Cabbage to help her discover her magic power and locate her wand before its missing status destroys Bramblycrumbly. Marigold makes friends with wonderful ease, a talent she dismisses until her quest reveals how powerful a gift it truly is. Delightfully imaginative characters populate the story, including a troll who knits and a friendless shadow boy. Vivid details in both the text and accompanying art bring Marigold’s magical world to life in this cheerful adventure by Primavera (I’m a Baked Potato!) that celebrates friendship and kindness.
  • https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/Elise-Primavera-Pens-New-Fantasy-Novel-MARIGOLD-STAR-20190626