Book review - What We Found in the Corn Maze and How it Saved a Dragon

Title: What We Found in the Corn Maze and How it Saved a Dragon
Author: Henry Clark
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: The Wonder of Wildflowers by Anna Staniszewski
                      The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara
Rating:

not sure it's the good kind of weird

Summary (provided by publisher): When three kids discover a book of magic spells that can only be cast during a few short minutes a day, they'll need all the time they can get to save a dying magical world, its last dragon, and themselves.
An ordinary day turns extraordinary when twelve-year-old Cal witnesses his neighbor Modesty summon a slew of lost coins without lifting a finger. Turns out she has a secret manual of magic spells . . . but they only work sometimes. And they're the most boring spells ever: To Change the Color of a Room, To Repair a Chimney, To Walk With Stilts, To Untangle Yarn. Useless!
But when Cal, his friend Drew, and Modesty are suddenly transported to the world the spells come from -- a world that's about to lose its last dragon -- they'll have to find a way to use the oddly specific incantations to save the day, if only they can figure out when magic works.
From the inventive mind of Henry Clark comes a hilariously wacky adventure about magic, friendship, a lookout tower come to life, a maze in the shape of a dragon, an actual dragon named Phlogiston, and lots and lots of popcorn.

My opinion: My rather fraught relationship with this book begins with the introduction of the technology called the Davytron. This struck me as an absolutely ridiculous name, and not in a good way. Every time it was mentioned, it pushed me out of the world of the story. And it strikes me as a symptom of a larger issue. It doesn't take itself seriously enough. The plot makes jokes at it's own expense. Most of the humor comes from absurd turns and pun names. The pun names are fine, though I'm not sure they'll all land with young readers, based as they are in library terminology. And the absurd turns aren't so much funny as just odd or happenstance. Only a narrow group of kids is going to truly enjoy this book.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley