The Weird Sisters: A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich

"It's autumn, and Covenly residents are gathering at the annual fall fair. The three Weird Sisters--Hildegurp, Glubbifer, and Yuckmina--are running a Flying Broom ride for Covenly kids. Nine-year-old Jessica Nibley is overseeing the petting zoo nearby, which includes Jessica's goat, Leona Swapnik's prized chickens, and bats, spiders, and frogs in fancy clothes from the sisters' pet emporium. When a frog hops out of the noisy petting zoo, the sisters and Jessica dash into the chicken coop, hoping to find it there. They don't. And they also discover that their cat, Graymalkin, who was napping in the coop, is missing too, along with Leona's New Hampshire Red chicken. Could it be fowl play? The sisters are ready to solve another mystery. As they search for clues, chaos follows: a chick'n sandwich goes missing; a roller skate is transformed into a roller coaster; an errant spell turns the mayor into a giant frog and a frog into an elegant man; and Cosmo Keene, dressed in a chicken suit, hides and snaps Polaroid pictures, hoping to gather evidence of the sisters' shenanigans. The action culminates in a runaway coaster car whomping into a giant pink puff of cotton candy, just missing Chelsea Oh. In the midst of the havoc, the sisters begin to understand that their spells have created problems for others, and although they don't know how to un-spell, they attempt to make amends: the mayor is human again, and the elegant man reverts to froggy form. But the cat and chicken are still missing, and the only clue to their whereabouts is in Cosmo's photo: a cat's tail sticks out from under a tent. Suspicion falls on Graymalkin--is she a chicken-napper? Luckily, the cat had walked through a puddle of spilled caramel, and a trail of sticky paw prints leads them to the cat, napping near the soft, warm chicken, who is safe and sound, and who had wandered to get away from the wand flashes of the Flying Broom. The day ends with a group ride on a Ferris wheel fashioned out of a pinwheel, and caramel apples for everyone. Full of humorous misunderstanding and hints and phrases from Hamlet, this whimsical mystery reminds readers that actions have consequences that can't always be undone. But we can own up to them, apologize, and make better choices in the future. Dynamic, humorous, and expressive illustrations by Kari Rust are in black and white with roughly two per chapter. End matter includes a recipe for caramel apples."--