The Magic Mixer

by Justine Laismith

This is a story about Mrs Dabble, who is bringing up three children: Billy, who is a pleasant and polite; Melanie, a toddler who likes to do things for herself; and Ruby, a baby.

On a typical day, Mrs Dabble finds herself going from one crisis to another. She really needs some help, but where can she get it from?

Meet Dr Patsy Gerlaxi and her Magic Mixer. This machine takes unique and useful features from any animal and inserts them into humans!

So begins Mrs Dabble's adventure to getting more help with the assistance of the Magic Mixer ...

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2013

About the author

Justine grew up in Singapore and studied Chemistry in London. Since completing her PhD, she has worked in the pharmaceutical, chemicals and education sectors. In 2010, she returned to Singapore, where ST Press Books published her chapter book about two women in STEM. When she is out and about, she takes far too many pictures on her phone. Her excuse? They inspire her stories, like her debut middle-grade book. Published by Aurelia Leo, she penned it in Singapore after a trip to China. She is now back in England living with a talking budgie.

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Fun! The children are very naughty, but when you have three that close in age you're asking for trouble. Reminds me a bit of Edward Eager or Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, but of course more modern. I hope children who have this read to them (or read it on their own, if they're good readers for their age) will realize that they really need to cause less stress for their moms or caregivers... at least until we can transform our bodies with additional abilities!

[Glen Blackwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book funny and easy to read. I liked the surprises and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. It was really funny when the children hid in lockers. I would like to know what happens to the people in the book next. (Review by my 9 year old daughter)

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story! Every parent out there could relate to not having enough hands when dealing with youngsters. I know I definitely discovered that when I had 3 under 3 years. You need eyes in the back of your head and hands everywhere.

Meet Mrs Dabble, who has a baby, a toddler and a young son. She’s constantly juggling situations and could do with some help. Every disaster in this story was really well described, and sooooo true! It could have been a page out of my bio.

One day she bumps into an old colleague who is an inventor. She informs Mrs Dabble she finally finished working on the Magic Mixer that helps to transform some animal qualities into humans. Mrs Dabble puts herself up for testing as she thinks of different animal functions that would be beneficial to her. Things don’t always work out quite how she thought it might.

A funny but clever way of highlighting to early readers that sometimes parenting is not that easy! A very entertaining story, quite unlike anything I’ve read before 😜

Thank you to Justine for sending a copy for an unbiased review.

[Annette O'Hare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful Read By A Delightful UK Author!

What a fun read! Author, Justine Laismith tells a magical tale of a mom or mum of three young children, who needs a helping hand, or perhaps eight helping hands! Well written and a fun book to read to the kids. I think your young ones will enjoy this book!

[Ummu Shahzeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book for teaching children about the sacrifices made and the hard work put in by a mother to ensure that the children are happy and safe. The Magic Mixer is one flexible machine! I love the conflicts in the story - they kept me on the edge of my seat, and the resolution at the end is unexpected but pleasant.

This award-winning story is definitely one which mothers (even mothers of 1 or 2 children) can relate to, and our 6-10 year-olds should read!

[Justine Laismith]

Hello, I am the author and I hope that you will check out my book. This is a chapter book for children, and I think parents will enjoy reading this with their children. It mixes elements of home life with science fiction. One of my readers described it as "X-men for little kids".

It is currently available at http://www.stpressbooks.com.sg

Thanks for reading.

[Catherine L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justine Laismith writes gentle humour like this very well, and as a mum who once had three children inside 25 months I could really relate, although I’m not sure I’d want to meddle with the Magic Mixer myself.. well ok maybe just for the best party costume!
The main character is the mum who doesn’t have enough eyes, ears or hands to do all the mum things well, but my favourite character is the baby of the family. I liked all the characters, it is a very charming read but no spoilers from me. The story also won an award.

[M.L. Tarpley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, quirky read for early readers & parents alike!

Very imaginative and original. I do wish there were more illustrations, but the writing offers enough imagery to imagine the zany situations Mrs. Dabble & her kids get into! I’m interested to check out what else the author has written and will write in the future.