The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Tom Skinner

New Frontier Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978 1 921042096
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a modern twist on a classic German poem which inspired a piece of classical music also called The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is also reminiscent of Walt Disney's Fantasia. It is set in a car and camel wash where we meet Rizwan, the sorcerer's apprentice, who just wants to cast spells and be noticed by girls.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a great story to read aloud as it uses rhyme to weave the spells as well as words like 'uppity', 'lurched' and 'mysterious' (words that may be tricky for young readers). Independent and young readers will enjoy its colourful and detailed pictures, showing the antics the young apprentice gets up to as he tries different spells to impress a girl.
Of course, just like Fantasia, Rizwan gets into all sorts of bother as he tries to act a little more grown up than he really is and chaos occurs - brooms do as they please, the soap suds grow and grow.
Highly recommended for teachers to read to their class, it could be compared to the original poem or Fantasia, and used as a lesson on rhyming words and writing poems and spells. It could also be used to introduce classical music as it comes with a CD that has a narration of the story, background information on the composer, Paul Abraham Dukas, and a copy of the original piece of music.
Parents will also enjoy reading this story to their children as they giggle at the pictures together and cast their own magical spells.
Kylie Kempster