Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret

Lucy Lancaster is a bright young student who loves her parents, her friends, and her school. She is always the first to enter her second-grade classroom, saying hello to her teacher, Mrs. Welli, and feeding the classroom fish. Her two best friends, Heidi Heckelbeck and Bruce Bickerson, sit next to her in class. 

One morning, Lucy’s teacher announces that the class will be raising caterpillars and watching them turn into butterflies. To Lucy’s dismay, she gets paired with Bryce Beltran instead of Heidi or Bruce. Bryce calls Lucy “boring” for wanting to name one of their caterpillars Tony, and then something strange happens. Lucy’s toes start tingling, and she hiccups! Suddenly, Bryce is no longer opposed to naming the caterpillar Tony. What changed? 

Lucy’s hiccups persist, and strange things continue to happen. One day, Lucy hiccups after seeing her caterpillars become butterflies, and the rest of the class’s caterpillars suddenly transform and escape from their containers. The class erupts into chaos, so Lucy hiccups again, and all of the butterflies gather to safely land on Lucy. Ms. Egli, the visiting librarian, takes Lucy aside and tells her to come see her at the library. Lucy is very nervous. Is Lucy in trouble for the butterflies? 

As it turns out, Ms. Egli is a witch, and Lucy is one too! Lucy’s hiccups show the beginnings of her powers. Ms. Egli leads Lucy to a magical part of the library where Lucy can learn spells to control her powers. Lucy returns to school the next day feeling different but excited for her future as a young witch. 

Told in the third person, Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret follows the magical mishaps of a young girl as she learns that magic does exist. Since readers follow Lucy’s point of view exclusively, their understanding of magic evolves alongside hers as she gradually discovers who she is. Small, strange occurrences become signs of a larger, magical power that will be expanded upon in later books, making for an immersive journey into the life of an almost ordinary second-grader. Even though Lucy must keep her magic a secret, there is no overarching moral or commentary provided on keeping secrets. 

Lucy herself is a relatable and realistic child. She is smart, eager, and friendly, enjoying school and diligently completing her homework. This makes Lucy a likable protagonist whom children can aspire to emulate. When faced with Bryce’s unkindness, Lucy does not respond with cruelty. Instead, she chooses to stand up for herself without putting him down. Parents and children can discuss Lucy and Bryce’s interactions as an introduction to the topic of early childhood bullying. 

Children interested in stories of everyday magic will appreciate the quick and humorous tricks that Lucy manifests with her hiccups. Despite the supernatural quality of her powers, the magic in the Lucy Lancaster Series is very grounded. Lucy’s spells are simple; the first entry in her spellbook is “The Call-It-Back Spell,” an incantation that reverses mistakes. 

Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret is a fun book suitable for independent readers. Large black-and-white illustrations appear on almost every page. The illustrations are charming and highly expressive, effectively highlighting key details of every scene and visually conveying the characters’ emotions. Illustrator Priscilla Burris also drew the page of Lucy’s spellbook containing “The Call-It-Back Spell” in its entirety, adding to the story’s immersion. Other short pieces of text, like the words on Lucy’s magical library card, are included in the illustrations. Each chapter begins with a full-page illustration that seamlessly transitions readers into the next section, picking up where the previous chapter left off. The Lucy Lancaster books can be read as individual stories because each book focuses on a new adventure. 

Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret primarily serves as an introduction to Lucy Lancaster and her magical powers. Readers who enjoyed the Heidi Heckelbeck books will appreciate the familiar characters in Lucy Lancaster, including Heidi herself. The story’s end offers readers a comforting lesson: even if you change as a person, your friends will remain by your side. 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language    

• Lucy’s partner for the butterfly project, Bryce, calls Lucy boring for naming a caterpillar. Bryce says, “Only a BORING person would choose a BORING name like Tony.”
• Lucy’s teacher, Mrs. Welli, exclaims, “Oh my!” when the butterflies are let loose in the classroom. 

Supernatural 

• The first time Lucy uses her powers, Bryce magically changes her mind about naming a caterpillar. Lucy lets out “a big, loud hiccup,” and her toes start tingling. Immediately afterwards, Bryce calls the caterpillar Tony, signifying that he has suddenly agreed on the name.
• Lucy wonders to herself if she should let her best friend, Heidi, win their game of Super Flag Tag. In that instant, she hiccups, and her toes tingle. The ensuing spell causes Heidi to find “EXACTLY where [Lucy] was hiding.” 
• Lucy and Bryce’s two caterpillars become butterflies, and Lucy is so mesmerized by their beauty that she hiccups. Her magic causes all the butterflies in the classroom to hatch at once, their containers popping open. Lucy worried that they would never catch all of the butterflies, and she hiccups again. “One by one, the butterflies landed on Lucy’s arms, shoulders, and even the rim of her glasses, until she was covered from head to toe!” 
• The librarian, Ms. Egli, takes Lucy to a corridor in the library that has a painting of a witch. Lucy holds up a “golden library card,” and the wall disappears to reveal a hidden entrance to “the magical library.” In this hidden room, books magically fly. 
• Ms. Egli asks Lucy, “Have you ever thought you might be a witch?” Lucy is astonished by the question, causing her to hiccup and send “a whole shelf of books” flying around the room. One flying book turns into a cat, and Ms. Egli uses a magic key to turn it back into a book. 
• In the library, a blank “Book of Spells” chooses Lucy to be its next reader. Lucy decides that the first spell she wants to learn is an undoing spell, and the incantation magically appears in the book. 
• Ms. Egli uses her magic key to make many books fly around the library, and Lucy chants the words to the new “Call-It-Back Spell” in her spellbook to return the books to their piles. 

Spiritual Content  

• None 

by Gabrielle Barke