MEASLE AND THE MALLOCKEE
by Ian Ogilvy
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060586915
Ages 8-13
384 pages

The little boy known as Measle is back! He's 12 years old, still clever, quick-thinking and resourceful. Despite the fact that his mother is a Manafount (able to supply a kind of energy), his father a Wizard, and his baby sister a "Mallockee," Measle is just a plain boy. And once again, this plain boy manages to outwit, outthink and out-finagle the most powerful Wizards and Warlocks around. Of course he has help along the way --- especially from his adoring nine-month-old baby sister, Matilda.

Matilda Stubbs had grown steadily into a chubby little baby girl, with piercing green eyes, spiky brown hair, six small, pearly white teeth and a throwing arm of devastating accuracy…Matilda adored her big brother…and lately --- since she discovered how to throw stuff --- Measle was the one she chose to throw it at.

With the exception of Matilda's throwing, things are going along rather peacefully for the little family. But life at home is totally disrupted one morning when Measle's father reads in the paper that a new Prime Magus of the Wizards' Guild has been chosen and is none other than Justin "the-Biggest-Fathead-in-the-Wizarding-Fraternity" Bucket. All of this is made worse by the addition of a just-formed Advisory Board made up of Warlocks. Before long Measle's family is called before the Advisory Board, who presents them with a long list of absurd and made-up accusations. It becomes obvious that they want to get rid of Measle's parents and have become aware that Matilda is a "magus infantum," or an infant wizard! Indeed --- she is a Mallockee:

…Wizards and Warlocks --- and even those contemptible Wrathmonks --- can perform only one major spell in a twenty-four hour period. But the Mallockee has no such limitations. The Mallockee can perform spells without stopping, until he or she becomes too exhausted to continue…a Mallockee doesn't need incantations for its spells. All a Mallockee has to do is think the spell, and it's done!

This knowledge immediately puts Matilda in grave danger. As the parents are led away "for safe-keeping" Measle, Matilda and his remarkable dog Tinker are able to escape with help from another Wizard, Toby Jugg. Toby takes them to Caltrop Castle where he says they will be safe until the situation is resolved. At the castle Measle befriends a little Wrathmonk named Mr. Niggle and runs into a series of truly scary and frightening adventures. It becomes apparent that those who Measle thinks are friends are not and those who might be enemies are not. Now Measle must figure out how to escape from this terrible place, free his parents and disband the committee of Warlocks and its evil leader.

This is the third in the Measle series, and again the writing is crisp and well-paced. Our hero Measle and the assorted other fun characters are lively and interesting. Ian Ogilvy has created a great character in Measle, one who wins out against evil through his own goodness and self-reliance. A delightful book, MEASLE AND THE MALLOCKEE will leave readers begging for more from this unpretentious hero and his charming little sis.

   --- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

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