Once Inside a Circle

"I wish something would happen. This house is as dead as a distant star." But strange things can happen when you mention stars and wishes in the same breath, and before they know it, Lil and Hector get more excitement than they'd bargained for.... After picking up a dropped ember from a shooting star, the children quickly discover that magical mayhem results whenever they encircle an object with it. Purple creepers choke the lawn, a serpent oozes from the toothpaste tube, a Japanese warrior jumps out of a breakfast cereal box, and a dresser grows into a howling dragon. To everyone's relief, the world returns to normal when the ember is exhausted. A lavishly illustrated picture book with lots of fun and fantasy, by a young team who are new to the Oxford list. SAVIOUR PIROTTA and ANDREW BROWN both live in England.