Hope’s Melody

In this lightly illustrated chapter book from the Kunces, whose previous books include Darien and the Lost Paints of Telinoria, eight-year-old Abigail treasures the stuffed lion she calls Lionie. As Abigail debates whether to leave her current school and friends to study at a music school, Lionie comes to life. Nicknamed Gus (his real name is Augustine), he explains that he and several other animals were created by a magician long ago but separated during a storm, kicking off a quest to find the other animals and “save the world of imagination.” Scraggly b&w spot illustrations punctuate this daydream-like but drawn out story. Readers taken with the idea of a favorite stuffed animal coming to life may look past the fact that the underlying reasons for it are rather vague (of the magician: “Somehow the love between the man and his animals created a new magic in the world—the power of imagination was born into every living child”). In the end, Abigail’s personal growth as she weighs what to do about her future schooling is more engaging than the story’s fantasy elements. Ages 6–9. (BookLife)