Mischievous Magical Maia Malone

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Broomsticks, alligators, gargoyles, and a lighthouse stretching up to
touch the sky. When nine-year-old Maia
describes her drawings, they come to life with comic and chaotic results - but
could losing the family she loves be the price she has to pay?



After finding herself transformed one time too many, Maia's older sister
Neeta snaps and tells Maia she's adopted. Maia's world crumbles. Thinking her
family would be better without her, she sets off on a daring and dangerous
quest armed only with her pencils, her notebook and a faded photo of a woman
she resembles.



A rollercoaster ride full of surprises, with themes of adoption, bullying, friendship, identity, and the scary responsibility of having a powerful
magical gift. Richly illustrated by Abigail Hicks.

Printed in Ireland by Sprint Books, Tallaght, the book is supplied within Ireland by International Education Services. It is also available online and on POD from Ingram Sparks and Amazon.


Why
This Book Belongs in Your School or Library

1.
Themes: Family, cross cultural identity, diversity: The book is a
realistic story about siblings, about families that don't fit the 'traditional'
mould. The father works with refugees, the mother is a writer and both
daughters are adopted.

Use/ Misuse of power: Maia's gift gives her great power,
but she doesn't always think of the consequences. Neeta uses knowledge about Maia's being
adopted in a spark of rage - and the cost, emotionally, to her as well as to
Maia and the family, is huge. Then there's the villain, Uncle Morgan who
misuses his power as a detective inspector.

Identity: The question of what family means, who we are,
how we define or find ourselves. Maia's best friends are a talking mouse who
thinks he's an elephant (identity) and Graham who's autistic (neurodiversity).
She and Neeta (11) are both adopted, with different cultural backgrounds.

2. Strong,
credible charactersMaia is a feisty, courageous female lead whose magic power comes directly
from her creativity and imagination - writing and drawing. This book tells
every child who loves making things that their imagination is a superpower.

The sibling dynamic between Maia and Neeta is
authentic. They bicker, protect each other, misunderstand each other, and - at
the end - hold each other tight. Uncle Morgan (aka "Morg the Borg")
is a gleefully awful villain. Mamma Nupp, their great-aunt, is a wonderful,
independent elderly character who lives alone, paints, and never needs
rescuing.

3. An
accessible, but genuinely ambitious readThe story moves fast and the writer never talks down to her
readers. Chapters are short enough to assign or read aloud in class. The
vocabulary is rich, but context driven.

Age range: 7-10; ideal read-aloud for 6+; independent read
for 8+

Suggested
Links To School Curricula

English
/ Literacy 1. Oral Language

*
Chapters are short, dialogue-rich, and full of comic timing;
great to read aloud. Teachers can model expressive reading, character voices,
and pacing.

*
Discuss: What would YOUR power be if you had a magic power
and how would you use it? If you could make something you drew come to life,
what would you draw?

*
Hot-seating activity: students interview Maia, Neeta, or
Uncle Morgan in character.

2. Reading Comprehension

*
Predicting outcomes (Maia draws something - what might
happen?)

*
Inference and deduction (Why does Neeta forbid Maia from
drawing? What does that tell us about her?)

*
Author's intention (Why is the villain a corrupt detective
rather than a monster?)

*
Theme: the difference between using a gift and misusing it.

3. Writing

Sedgwick is a screenwriter so the book has a very clear
three-act structure with a satisfying resolution that will be useful in
discussions about creating stories, developing dramatic characters.

*
Maia's power works because she describes what she
has drawn. Students could be encouraged to write about what they might draw into
(temporary) existence. This has potential to open up topics across many areas
depending on what they choose to draw.

*
Students could write a diary page from different points of
view: eg, How did Neeta feel on the day she realised Maia had this gift?

*
Descriptive writing: Maia experiences Dublin's streets, a
lighthouse, a cinema that looks like something from a fairy tale, a museum full
of Egyptian gold. Students could write a description of a special place they
know.

4. Media Literacy

Near the end of the novel, Morgan's arrest becomes a news
story. This opens a conversation about how stories are shaped by who tells them
- a key media literacy concept for upper primary. They could be asked to write a
news story of their own or start their own class magazine.

SPHE
(Social, Personal and Health Education)*
Bullying and bystander behaviour: The character
Bonzo appears early, and Neeta refuses to be intimidated. The book consistently
shows both Maia, Neeta and other characters standing up to bullies and the
limits of aggression.

*
Family diversity and belonging: Maia is
adopted. She looks different from her parents and sister. The book handles this
with beautiful lightness - she looks through old family photographs wondering
where she comes from.

In a flash of frustration, Neeta weaponizes
this knowledge, without realising the damage she is doing. This can only happen
because the parents haven't told Maia yet. The discussion when they sit down as
a family at the end and talk it all through would be a good discussion topic.
(Neeta is also adopted, but Maia doesn't know at the start.)

*
Self-worth and identity: Maia feels
"weird" and is frequently told not to draw. Learning to trust her own
voice is the emotional core of the book.

*
Emotions and empathy: Multiple
characters (including Uncle Morgan in his final moments) are shown to have
complex reasons for who they are. The book models nuanced emotional thinking
without being preachy.

Visual
Arts*
Maia draws and draws. It makes her happy and helps her feel
safe. This is a book that validates visual artists and invites children to see
illustration as storytelling.

*
Abigail Hicks's illustrations are a craft model: students
can study how character is conveyed through line, expression, and composition.

History
/ SESEGiven the family tin of photographs in Chapter Eight Maia looks
at pictures of a suffragette great-grandmother and a young man killed in the WW2.
This is a natural bridge to lessons on:

*
Women's suffrage and voting rights

*
Family history and oral tradition - with an exercise to go
and record the stories by older people in their family or community

*
How photographs tell stories across generations- and what
they don't say. (Maia thinks the handsome soldier has a faraway look "as if
he'd been promised hot chocolate cake and had been given bran flakes instead".

























































































In terms of locations, the museum is full of Egyptian
antiquities and ancient armour, the old cinema might have been a music hall,
the old TB hospital at the end was once an asylum...