Gr 4-6 This refreshing tale takes readers back to the era of Roald Dahl, featuring realistic characters entwined with fantastical events. Sorrel is a white child who believes that following the rules matters very much. She never questions her school's motto, "May obedience shape you, may conformity mould you, may rules polish you." In fact, she has been named Head of School two years in a row for being the most obedient, and knows that it is not appropriate to even smile at the headmaster, Mr. Grittysnit. When Sorrel finds a bag of Surprising Seeds, she resists the urge to do anything imprudent at first. But a persistent voice, her best friend Neena, and childhood curiosity take over and something unearthly happens. A bloom begins to grow on Sorrel's head! She's surely never going to get the award for Most Obedient Child now. Sorrel, her friends, and her mom grow and learn in ways they never expected. This novel will help children retain their innocence and harness their imagination. Sorrel Fallowfield will capture hearts and minds of readers of all ages; Skinner has earned her place among the greats. VERDICT Readers will bloom along with Sorrel as she metaphorically and literally grows in this fantastic middle grade novel. Every child will love to laugh through this page-turner.Kelly Finan Richards, Baltimore County Public Sch., MD

Hoping to cheer up her single mum, who supports them by working at the local frozen-pizza factory, Sorrel begins the school year determined to win the prize (a vacation!) for the most obedient student at Grittysnit School. Although a wealthy, mean-girl classmate becomes a ruthless competitor for the prize, Sorrel soon has more pressing concerns. After discovering a century-old packet of "Surprising Seeds," she unwittingly unleashes them on herself, her best friend, their schoolmates, townsfolk, and (quite possibly) readers of the book. Soon plants begin sprouting from people's heads, to the delight of predatory reporters and hordes of annoying tourists. In the first-person narrative, Sorrel shows how her viewpoint shifts as she realizes how little she has understood herself and those around her. While initially the characters divide easily into good guys, bad guys, and everybody else, many make mistakes along the way, and a few redeem themselves. There's a hint of Roald Dahl in the tone of this inventive English chapter book, which will sweep readers along with its strong storytelling, surprising twists, and droll humor.

Eleven-year-old Sorrel unlocks the power of magical seeds to transform her life and the entire town with it.When Sorrel unearths a packet of Surprising Seeds from under a concrete slab in her patio, she sets off on a mission to plant and nurture them. After they fail to come to life in dirt, she is compelled by an outside force to grow them right on her own head and that of best friend Neena. Grow they do-into a mop of flowers and vegetables-and it doesn't stop there. Sorrel learns about the history and enchanted magic of Agatha Strangeways and the lush fields and wildflowers she tended that once ruled their now concrete-laden English town of Little Sterilis. The book is told in the first person from Sorrel's perspective with small cautionary passages directed to readers. Until Agatha's history comes to light, the story moves slowly, but after that point the pace picks up. Skinner's tale is imaginative and vibrant even if some of the characters fall flat; Sorrel may be the least interesting person in the story, outshone by outspoken, science-minded Neena and fascinating Strangeways. The book's lessons sometimes lack subtlety, but the metaphor of paving paradise rings necessarily loud and true. All characters are presumed White, save British Indian Neena and her family.Part cautionary tale, part folktale, this is a leisurely, imaginative read. (Fiction. 8-12)