The Youngest Fairy Godmother Ever

Mavis Trumble doesn't long to be a princess. Instead, she says, ""I want to make wishes come true."" She practices to become a fairy godmother by ""popping up out of nowhere"" (e.g., leaping from a stack of packages at a department store), waving a wand and winking sagely into her mirror. Mavis is so busy training that she barely notices the new girl at school, Cindy, a beleaguered, drably dressed sort who could use some godmothering of her own. The foreground of Bluthenthal's (The La-Di-Da Hare) comical, cartoonlike illustrations feature Mavis's giddy antics, but included are surreptitious glimpses of Cindy, who lugs packages and does laundry for her snobby, identical twin stepsisters. Krensky (My Teacher's Secret Life) brings Mavis and Cindy together on the eve of a school Halloween party. As the ball nears, Cindy designs a pink gown, and Mavis enthusiastically sews it; thus the dual heroines help to fulfill each other's wishes. As sympathetic as it is witty, this prince-less ""Cinderella"" should charm its readers. Ages 4-6. (May)