The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls by Elise Primavera

Ivy is pretty excited about moving to Sherbert. After the last seven years with a Jinx following her around, she is ready for some good luck! Her great aunt V has left a house to her mother Pearl, and the two are just sure their luck is about to turn around. It seems like that is the theme of the day when a piano is delivered to their house, followed by their neighbor Mr. Staccato - a piano teacher!

The other girls on Gumm Street aren't sure what to think of her. Franny, the adventurous and somewhat clumsy one, is excited at the possibility of a new friend. Pru, the overly cautious bookworm, doesn't know if she should bother with someone who seems to be so...accident prone. Cat, the free-spirited cartwheel queen, is a bit preoccupied with how awesome she is to pay too much attention to Ivy. It isn't until the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Staccato that the girls band together.

Not long after, Cha Cha blows into town. Cat is visited by a strange man in a balloon, and she knows the new resident of Gumm Street is bad news. The girls seem to be the only ones who can see through her facade, however, and even their parents are taken in! The more they investigate the mysterious silver shoes left for Ivy by Mr. Staccato, the more they think all of this might be related to The Wizard of Oz! Well, it does seem a little far-fetched, but nothing else makes nearly as much sense. The girls are convinced that Cha Cha's a witch after the silver slippers.

It doesn't take long for Cha Cha to prove them right! She bewitches them to SPOZ, and the girls are off on an adventure they won't soon forget...even if all they want to do is go home. Their summer vacation is spent in the service of Cha Cha's nieces Bling-Bling and Coco...who threaten to beautylyze them as soon as their aunt returns. Will the girls ever find a way out? Can they locate the other silver slipper before Cha Cha? What untold horrors await them along the way?

Whimsical, suspenseful, and even scary at times this story has just the right amount of Oz, but still manages to be very original. Recommended for 4-6th grades, there are scenes of similar scariness to the original Baum tale.

"Ivy's got a Jinx, an eye on her hand, and a wicked witch after her, but what do you care? Pru, you're too busy reading and eating cereal all summer, and Cat's got to do cartwheels up and down Gumm Street, so of course you don't have the time. But I don't have anything else to do more important than helping Ivy, so whether or not you guys want to join, I'm having a club. Maybe I'll even be president!" (Primavera pg. 207, 2006).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
Libby of High Hopes by Elise Primavera (June 2012)
Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers
The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

Primavera, Elise. (2006). The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.