Polly Diamond and the Topsy-Turvy Day

Polly and Spell are back for another adventure in Polly Diamond and the Topsy-Turvy Day. Polly is excited that today is going to be a topsy-turvy day as soon as she wakes up and finds her feet on her pillow and her sister still asleep. When she writes in her magic notebook that it’s a topsy-turvy day, her room magically turns upside-down. Spell, her magic book, always takes what she writes as a literal wish.

Unfortunately, Polly soon finds her feelings are also topsy-turvy when she arrives at school to find a substitute teacher instead of her regular classroom teacher, Ms. Arbul (Ms. Hairball). This is just the first disappointment of the day. She was looking forward to reading her story to the class, but the new teacher has a different plan. The surprise new classroom pet turns out to be a boring hamster – who is nocturnal, so it sleeps all day! It quickly becomes apparent that, although her day is topsy-turvy, it is not super-great. But that can change when you are a person with a great imagination and a magic notebook!

Polly decides that she can still make the day special by giving everyone their preferred pet with Spell. When chaos ensues, Polly must work hard to get everything back to normal. In the process, she realizes that maybe a topsy-turvy day can be fun after all.

As with the previous books, author Alice Kuipers embeds new vocabulary and new concepts, such as word pairs, simile, cliché, and even how to research in the library, into a fun plot made even sillier by a magic book that misunderstands the ideas written onto its pages. The result of the meaning mix-ups will appeal to budding authors who enjoy word play silliness. Diana Toledano’s black and white drawings further illustrate the whimsy of a child’s imagination.

As a teacher, I appreciate that this early chapter book introduces children to concepts in a natural and fun way, concepts that they will be learning in school. I did find, however, that the number of mini-lessons slowed the plot. Polly is a great example of an enthusiastic learner and writer. I suspect that children will relate to some of the mishaps that occur when a child with a big imagination has access to a magic book that has a literal understanding of what is written on its pages.

Polly will appeal to aspiring writers and the Amelia Bedelia fans who love to play with words and language.