December 1, 2005
Gr 3-6 -This installment in the twins' adventures opens with what seems to be a nightmare but is in fact reality: Beezel has turned into a mouse and is running away from a hungry cat. In "The Trimoni Twins and the Changing Coin" (Bloomsbury, 2004), she and her sister Mimi had been given a coin that allows them to change any person or animal into any type of object. In this book, the 11-year-old twins are visiting Amsterdam with their tutor, Hector. His uncle has the second of three magical coins, the Shrinking Coin. He and his late best friend have spent the last 20 years looking for a treasure supposedly hidden in Uncle Hoogaboom's house. Smallcomb has an expressive style of writing, such as when she states two people are -as different from each other as chocolate and salami. - Alliterative exclamations generally have some inside joke concerning magic. There is a love story for Hector, the girls have terrible crushes on a famous teen actor related to Hoogaboom's late friend, and the mystery of the missing treasure is solved. Beezel is logical while Mimi is impulsive, leading to many humorous situations throughout this fast-paced fantasy. Fans of Anne Martin and Laura Godwin's "The Doll People" (Disney, 2000) will likely enjoy this book. Presumably the next adventure in this amusing series will concern the missing and magical Mind Reading Coin." -B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY"
Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2006
Fresh from their adventures with the Changing Coin, magician twins Mimi and Beezel head to Amsterdam, where they encounter a handsome movie star, the search for an elusive treasure, and another magical coin. Fast-paced to the point of frantic, the plot and its humor rest on the twins' magical powers. Impetuous Mimi and thoughtful Beezel complement each other well.
(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)