The Wizard Comes to Town

By Mercer Mayer

Book Overview

A stranger with a calling card reading Z.P. Alabasium, Wizard Extraordinaire, rents a room in Mrs. Beggs's boarding house. After the Wizard conjures up a few floating chairs and some inclement weather in the parlor, Mrs. Beggs retaliates with a little "witchcraft" of her own. Full color.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 187992000X
• ISBN13: 9781879920002
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Rainbird Pr
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

very delightful

my grand son loved this book, and so did the adults who read it to him..! wonderful..! Thank you Mercer Mayer

Sounds just like The Wizard Comes to Town

This appears to be the same story as The Wizard Comes to Town. My boys LOVE this book - from the illustrations of the havoc the new boarder wreaks upon the house, to how Mrs. Beggs gets rid of him, to the possibilities posed on the last page... It is a great book to read with a child and ask them, "what do you think she's going to do?" or "what do you think might happen if she lets this one in?" They start to see alternate possibilities in the story - which can lead to discussion of the consequences of the decisions they, themselves make. Highly recommended!

A book that sparks the imagination

I found this book at the library last week and read it with my 5-year-old. The story itself - how a landlady rids herself of a nuisance tenant - is enjoyable, and is well complemented by the illustrations. The end of the story brings a nice commentary on human nature (the other tenants are bored once the wizard is ousted), and a wonderful closing in which a new wizard appears at the boardinghouse door. Evan has made up many endings to this story - following different decisions by the landlady, a variety of personalities and actions by the new wizard(/?s), etc - and it has really helped him grasp the concept that the world is affected by branches of decision and action. Best of all is the light in his eyes when he comes up to me and says, "What if...?" It's refreshing to see a book that leaves so much to little readers' imaginations.

Z P Alabasium

When I was small this was my favorite book of all time. I recently was given a copy and it rekindled many good memories. Mercer Mayer's illustrations are great, the details are amazing. I can't say enough nice things.