Copyright © 2014 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto, Penguin Random House Companies, in conjunction with Disney Enterprises, Inc. Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thorpe, Kiki. A pinch of magic / written by Kiki Thorpe ; illustrated by Jana Christy. pages cm — (The Never girls ; 7) “A Stepping Stone book.” Summary: Baking-talent fairy Dulcie helps Mia make treats for a neighborhood bake sale but must return to Never Land before they are done, and Mia may not be able to finish without her help. ISBN 978-0-7364-3097-5 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-7364-8149-6 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-7364-3222-1 (ebook) [1. Fairies—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Baking—Fiction. 4. Contests—Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.T3974Pin 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2014004047 randomhouse.com/kids/disney v3.1 For Oonagh —K.T. For my sister, Angela —J.C. Title Page Copyright Dedication Map of Never Land Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 About the Author Far away from the world we know, on the distant seas of dreams, lies an island called Never Land. It is a place full of magic, where mermaids sing, fairies play, and children never grow up. Adventures happen every day, and anything is possible. There are two ways to reach Never Land. One is to find the island yourself. The other is for it to find you. Finding Never Land on your own takes a lot of luck and a pinch of fairy dust. Even then, you will only find the island if it wants to be found. Every once in a while, Never Land drifts close to our world … so close a fairy’s laugh slips through. And every once in an even longer while, Never Land opens its doors to a special few. Believing in magic and fairies from the bottom of your heart can make the extraordinary happen. If you suddenly hear tiny bells or feel a sea breeze where there is no sea, pay careful attention. Never Land may be close by. You could find yourself there in the blink of an eye. “Last one home is a rotten egg!” cried Gabby Vasquez. She started running down the block as fast as she could, the costume fairy wings she always wore flapping behind her. Gabby’s sister, Mia, and Mia’s two best friends, Kate McCrady and Lainey Winters, looked at each other and laughed. They weren’t going to race anywhere. It was hot and they were tired after a day of swimming. Lainey had recently conquered her fear of the water, so the girls had decided to go to the community pool to celebrate. They’d done cannonballs, stood on their hands underwater, and competed in mermaid races. “I can’t wait to go back to Never Land tomorrow,” said Mia. “Me neither,” said Kate and Lainey at the exact same time. They grinned at each other. “Jinx!” That summer, the girls had discovered that they could travel to Never Land and visit their fairy friends in Pixie Hollow whenever they wanted by walking into Gabby’s closet. But the past couple of days had been packed with summertime activities, and they hadn’t been able to slip away. As much fun as it had been, they were eager to get back to the magical land of the fairies. Gabby had arrived at the end of the block and was now circling back. “You’re all rotten eggs!” she exclaimed. “I guess we are,” Kate said with a laugh. As they passed Maple Street, Gabby’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Let’s go home this way instead,” she said. She grabbed her big sister’s hand and pulled her along. “Past Swensen’s Sweets?” Mia asked. “Sounds good to me!” Swensen’s was an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, serving all kinds of frozen treats. “What do you want, Gabby?” Mia asked as they stood in front of the ice cream case. She searched her pockets for the money her mother had given her that morning. Gabby studied the menu on the wall. “I’ll take the Kitchen Sink,” she said. The other girls laughed. So did the server, a tall, freckled boy with red hair peeking out from under his paper cap. The Kitchen Sink was a gigantic dessert with twenty scoops of ice cream, every sauce you could think of, tons of whipped cream and sprinkles, and a gazillion cherries. Whenever someone ordered it, the server honked a big brass horn. Mia finally found the ten-dollar bill. “Maybe another time,” she told her sister. “Today we only have enough money for one cone each.” After much discussion, the girls placed their orders—rainbow sherbet for Gabby, strawberry shortcake for Mia, peanut butter brickle for Lainey, and chocolate chocolate chip for Kate. When Mia lingered behind to grab some extra napkins, her eyes fell on a flyer with a half- filled volunteer sign-up sheet underneath: Come join your neighbors for a SUMMER BLOCK PARTY Food! Games! Bounce House! Pet Spa! Face Painting! Music! Raffle! Crafts Table! This Saturday starting at noon (All proceeds to benefit the Davis family) Meghan Davis went to their school. There had recently been a fire at her family’s house, and they needed help to replace their belongings. Mia shook her head. She couldn’t even imagine how hard things were for Meghan and her family and how sad they must feel. “Hey, everyone, look at this,” she said, pointing to the flyer. “We should sign up.” Kate scanned the list. “Games, that’s all me,” she decided, writing down her name. “I’m going to volunteer for the pet spa!” said Lainey, grabbing the sign-up pen from Kate. Next, Gabby wrote her name on the sheet, under Face Painting. But Mia just stood there, looking at the list, her ice cream cone forgotten in her hand. She would have joined Kate with Games, but all those slots had been filled. Grooming pets wasn’t really her thing. And none of the remaining choices—Setup, Food, Bake Sale, Raffle, Crafts Table, and Cleanup—jumped out at her, either. “Hurry up!” said Gabby, dancing around impatiently. She had already finished her ice cream. Mia grabbed the pen and scribbled her name under the first open space. Lainey peered at the list. “Bake Sale?” she said. “I didn’t know you liked to bake.” Mia shrugged. “I’ll figure something out,” she said. But on the walk home, Mia had a sudden stab of doubt. Maybe I should go back, she thought. I’ll sign up for the Crafts Table instead. She was about to ask the girls to turn around when a voice said, “Hey, guys!” It was coming from the Taylors’ house. Tina and Tara Taylor were standing at the front gate. Their long, straight blond hair was pulled back into matching ponytails. The girls were a year