Miranda has one messy desk.

It's full of books, pencils, science projects and…other stuff. Too much stuff, says her teacher, Ms. Basil. On a family visit to her Uncle Aldo's one night, Miranda wonders if some of his magician's tools might offer a solution to her messy-desk problem. Sneaking off to the magic room, Miranda finds Uncle Aldo's impressive collection of top hats. Miranda knows that magic top hats can hold lots of things—why not the mess from her desk? At first, the hat seems to do the trick, but soon things start to go horribly wrong. As Uncle Aldo says, you have to be careful with magic.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

JEFF SZPIRGLAS is the author of multiple books in the Countdown to Danger series. In addition to his choose-your-own-path titles, Jeff has written award-nominated non-fiction books and several terrifying novels and horror collections for middle-grade readers, including Tales from the Fringes of Fear and Tales from Beyond the Brain. With his wife, Danielle Saint-Onge, he is the co-author of the Orca Echoes books X Marks the Spot!, Something's Fishy and Messy Miranda. He's worked at CTV Television and was an editor at Chirp, chickaDEE and Owl magazines. He has twin children, two cats (the cats are not twins) and one dog. In his spare time, he teaches elementary school. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario. Visit him online at www.jeffszpirglas.com.

Jeff Szpirglas' profile page

Jeff Szpirglas and Danielle Saint-Onge live together in Toronto and teach in classrooms with students of diverse cultural backgrounds. Jeff has written several books, including Gross Universe and Fear This Book, as well as scripts for radio and television. He likes to make Danielle watch scary movies with him. Danielle has a master's degree in social anthropology and is a crusader for equity in the classroom. Whenever Jeff makes her watch a scary movie, she usually makes Jeff watch one about people in love afterward.

Danielle Saint-Onge's profile page

DAVE WHAMOND a illustré la série Margot et My Think-a-ma-Jink, tous deux gagnants du prix Blue Spruce. Il a également signé les illustrations des livres de Robert Munsch Quelle tête!, C’est petit ici! et Je raffole de l’école!, et est l'auteur d'une bande dessinée intitulée Reality Check, qui paraît quotidiennement dans un certain nombre de journaux nord-américains. Dave habite à Calgary, en Alberta.

DAVE WHAMOND is the creator of Oddrey and My Think-a-ma-Jink, both winners of the Blue Spruce Award. He illustrated the Robert Munsch books Braids!, Think Big! and School Rules! He also has a syndicated cartoon strip called Reality Check, which appears daily in a number of North American newspapers. Dave lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Dave Whamond's profile page

• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books

"A simple, but charming story, and very relatable...A great early chapter book."

Resource Links

"As a messy desk is not uncommon, Miranda is a relatable character...Illustrations provide the readers with comical character emotions...A good early chapter book for primary school children looking for a good laugh."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Offers engaging characters and a simple but entertaining story for beginning chapter book readers. Recommended."

Library Media Connection