Top Five Reasons to Read the Magic Paintbrush

Book Title: The Magic Paintbrush
Author: Kat Zhang and Eric Darnell
Release Date: May 21, 2024
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I am so excited to be participating in the Magic Paintbrush Tour hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours! If you’re interested in following the rest of the tour, be sure to check out the tour schedule, which I’ve linked to at the bottom of this post.

Synopsis:

In this highly illustrated series launch, Amy, a Chinese American girl picks up an ancient paintbrush and unwittingly unleashes the power to make her art real—and sometimes dangerous.

Amy has always loved art, but lately her drawings have been less than impressive. There’s no passion, no personality, no…magic. Until Amy visits her Lao Lao, her grandmother, and finds an ancient paintbrush that brings anything Amy creates to life!

Now her creation Luna has taken over her bedroom and is running through the streets of Flushing, Queens. And launches an international adventure filled with an ancient Chinese legend, a greedy adversary and ghastly beasts!

Top Five Reasons to Read The Magic Paintbrush:

The Magic Paintbrush was such a fun and quick read full of daring escapades and magical fantasies. For those of you who enjoy fantasy middle grade books, I think you’ll really like this one! Here are my top five reasons why I think you should read it:

1). Fantastical Illustrations – The Magic Paintbrush includes several illustrations throughout the book that really help bring the story to life, and especially emphasize the book’s focus on art.

2). Chinese Myths and Legends – Not only does the Magic Paintbrush include great representation and follows a Chinese American main character, but it also includes different Chinese lore throughout the story. This was so much fun to read about, especially in the context of art!

3). Art Come to Life – My absolute favorite part of the story was that all the art Amy created with her magic paintbrush came to life. There were a lot of interesting twists to this, too, that I hadn’t really thought about before. I always imagined my own art coming to life as a kid, so getting to read about it was entertaining.

4). Magical Adventures – While the story started with Amy finding a paintbrush, it evolved into a big magical adventure with her and her Lao Lao that I loved! If you enjoy reading books filled with magic, you’ll definitely like this one.

5). Close Bonds – At the beginning of the story, Amy and her Lao Lao aren’t very close, but through their art, they grow a tight bond that was heartwarming to witness. Additionally, Amy has a close friend by her side who would do anything to help her. However, I can’t mention close bonds without mentioning her magical creation, Luna. A figment of her imagination from childhood brought to life by the brush, the two grew incredibly close throughout the book, and they brought me so many laughs and even a couple of tears.

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198688472

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593179935

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-magic-paintbrush-kat-zhang/1144040339

IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-magic-paintbrush-eric-darnell/20582816

About the Author:

Kat Zhang loves traveling to places both real and fictional–the former have better souvenirs, but the latter allow for dragons, so it’s a tough pick. She is the author of the novels the Hybrid Chronicles, The Emperor’s Riddle, and The Memory of Forgotten Things, and the picture books Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. When not writing, spends her free time scribbling poetry, taking photographs, and climbing atop things she shouldn’t.