Wish Upon a Party

by Phoebe Bright

“Can you all take your seats again, please?” Mrs Chen called to the kids. “The Great Fandango is ready continue his magic show now.”

  Lia and her friends cheered. Cassie watched from behind the curtain as Marcus started his show again. Soon, everyone was rolling with laughter. Marcus lost the scarves in the scarf trick again, and then produced a dozen eggs from his sleeve while clucking loudly like a chicken.

  The kids clapped and roared with laughter.

  “Boys and girls,” Marcus announced, “that’s almost the end of my magic show.”

  Everyone groaned.

  “But I have one last trick,” he said. “Do you want to see it?”

  The whole audience cheered.

  Marcus walked over to Cassie. “What do I do now?” he whispered as she passed him the three boxes.

  “You’re going to make a birthday cake appear under one of the boxes,” Cassie replied.

  “I am?” Marcus said. He looked awfully nervous all of a sudden.

  “You’re The Great Fandango,” Cassie reminded him. “All you have to do is believe in birthday magic.”

  Marcus nodded and turned back to the audience. “Boys and girls,” he said. “For my final trick, I will make a birthday cake appear in one of these boxes.”

  Everyone oohed and aahed as he placed the cake box upside down on the stage, then put the striped box and the silver box on either side of it. I hope this works, Cassie thought, crossing her fingers.

  “I need a volunteer from the audience,” Marcus said, pointing to Lia. Smiling, she jumped up onto the stage.

  Marcus handed her his wand. “Please wave the wand over the boxes,” he said.

  Lia did, looking thrilled to help with a magic trick.

  “Now choose the box you think the cake is in,” Marcus said.

  Lia picked up the silver box. Her face fell. “There’s nothing there,” she said.

  Marcus opened his eyes wide in a funny surprised face, tossed the box in the air, and made it land on his head like a crazy hat. Lia giggled.

  Next, Lia picked the striped box. Nothing was under that one, either.

  Marcus reached slowly toward the cake box. Behind the curtain, Cassie concentrated hard on her flower charm. Please make a beautiful birthday cake appear, she thought. Silver sparkles swirled around her bracelet, and she felt a tingling sensation go up her arm.

  On her wrist, the flower charm burst into a bouquet!

  Marcus picked up the cake box, and the audience gasped. There was a beautiful cake underneath! It was topped with a fairy castle and sugar fairies, just like before, and sparkled with edible glitter.

  Lia’s eyes shone. “Oh, Marcus, thank you!” she cried. “You’re the best. And this is the best birthday ever!”

  “Hooray!” Cassie cheered along with everyone else. Then she felt a tingle on her wrist. With a swirl of shimmering stars, a beautiful cupcake charm appeared on her bracelet. She had done it! She had granted Marcus’s wish — he had made Lia’s birthday extra-special with his magic show. And now Cassie had earned another magic charm!

  “You’re the greatest magician in the world,” Lia said, hugging Marcus tightly.

  “You really are,” Mrs. Chen said, joining them. “I have no idea how you did that trick, Marcus. Where did the cake come from?”

  Marcus looked at Cassie.

  She raised an eyebrow. “A great magician never reveals his secrets,” she said.

  “I don’t know how it happened, either,” added Marcus, “but it goes to show that if you believe in magic, anything is possible.”

  That night, Cassie floated up through the open panel in the glass roof of her bedroom. Silvery sparkles spiraled from her bird charm and swirled all around her. In her hand, she held a gift for a special friend.

  The sky was filled with stars, but Cassie flew straight toward the star that glowed the brightest of all. As she got closer, it grew even brighter and then changed into Stella Starkeeper.

  “Hi, Stella!” said Cassie, waving. “Look, I’ve got a new charm!”

  She held up her wrist so Stella could see the colorful cupcake charm on her bracelet.

  “I’m so happy to see that,” Stella said. Her eyes sparkled. “You only have two more charms to earn. Then you’ll be a Lucky Star!”

  Cassie sighed. “I can’t wait,” she said. “But I can’t quite control my magic yet. I accidentally covered Donna Fox in icing!”

  Stella gave Cassie a hug. “It isn’t easy becoming a Lucky Star, but I know you can do it.”

  “I brought something for you,” Cassie said, “to thank you for always believing in me.”

  She held out a cupcake, all the way from the Fairy Cupcake Bakery. On the top, in bright pink icing, were the initials SS — for Stella Starkeeper.

  “Delicious,” Stella said, taking a bite. “It’s magical, just like your new charm!”

  Cassie looked at the little cupcake charm on her bracelet.

  Whose wish will I grant next? she wondered. And what magical adventures will I have?

  Cassie loves cupcakes! She gets delicious cupcakes from the Fairy Cupcake Bakery, and she even has a cupcake-shaped charm on her bracelet. Now you can make some yummy Lucky Star cupcakes for yourself!

  You Need:

  • Your favorite cupcake and frosting recipes, and all of the necessary ingredients

  • Small tubes of colored icing in bright colors

  • Colored sugar sprinkles

  1. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe. Make sure to ask an adult for help with the oven!

  2. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a spatula to spread frosting on the top of each cupcake.

  3. Using the little tubes of icing, draw a big star on top of the frosting on each cupcake.

  4. Add colored sugar sprinkles to your cupcakes. (You can also use star-shaped sprinkles, if you can find them!)

  Now your cupcakes all have colorful, sparkly stars on top — just like the stars Cassie sees when she and Stella fly through the night sky!

  Can Cassie make another wish come true? Take a sneak peek at

  #5: Wish Upon a Superstar!

  Lucky Stars #5

  Wish Upon a Superstar

  Cassie Cafferty was the only early-morning customer at Farmer Greg’s “Pick Your Own” fruit farm. Hundreds of ripe red strawberries still dotted the lush plants, but her basket was full.

  Cassie picked one last giant berry and popped it in her mouth. So juicy!

  At the checkout, Farmer Greg said cheerily, “Hello, Cassie. Wow, you have enough strawberries here for everyone in Astral-on-Sea!”

  “Mom’s making strawberry shortcake as a treat for the guests at Starwatcher Towers,” said Cassie.

  “She must be awfully busy running the bed-and-breakfast every day,” said Farmer Greg.

  “You’re right,” said Cassie with a smile. She paid and took her basket. The scent from the sun-warmed fruit was sweet. “Mmmm!” she said. “The guests will love these. Thanks!”

  Cassie walked along the edge of Whimsy Woods. There were a few dog walkers around, but otherwise she had the path to herself. She swung her basket cheerfully as she went, being careful not to drop any strawberries.

  Suddenly, something in the woods caught Cassie’s eye. She peered among the trees. Sunlight streaked the leaves, but farther in among the shadows, there was . . . yes! It was an orb of silver light, like a fallen star.

  Cassie smiled. Could that light be Stella Starkeeper? she wondered. She hoped it was!

  As Cassie pulled a branch aside, the charms on her silver bracelet tinkled. Stella Starkeeper had given her the bracelet a few weeks ago, on her seventh birthday. But it was no ordinary charm bracelet. It held a magical secret!

  Each charm on Cassie’s bracelet gave her a special po
wer. Whenever she helped make someone’s wish come true, she received a new charm. Once she had all seven, she would become a Lucky Star! So far, Cassie had five charms. The little blue bird gave her the power to fly, and the crescent moon helped her talk to animals. With the pink butterfly she could stop time, and with the purple flower charm she could make things appear.

  Cassie’s newest charm was a cute cupcake, but she and her friend Alex still hadn’t figured out what power it had. Alex was the only other person who knew about the magical charms — aside from Stella, of course. He was staying at Starwatcher Towers for a few weeks with his parents and his puppy, Comet. He and Cassie had already become good friends!

  Cassie watched the silver light dance farther into the trees.

  “It’s leaving!” she gasped. “I have to see if that really is Stella!”

  She chased the light, but it moved too fast. Cassie realized that she needed the bracelet’s magical power if she wanted to catch up. She concentrated hard on her bird charm. Her wrist tingled! Sparkles swirled from her charm bracelet, then spiraled around her.

  Cassie rose off the ground and flew after the light. She moved quickly through the trees, holding her basket of strawberries close so it wouldn’t get caught on a branch.

  The light darted along the deserted main path through Whimsy Woods. It was headed straight toward the town’s outdoor movie theater!

  Before long, Cassie reached the theater clearing. It was one of her favorite spots in Astral-on-Sea! A giant movie screen was set up on the far end. There were rows of benches to sit on, and a large grassy area where people could picnic. During movie screenings, snacks were sold at the kiosk that stood to one side.

  Just then, Cassie spotted the silver light twinkling in front of a poster:

  That looks interesting, thought Cassie, as she drifted gently to the ground.

  Suddenly, the silver light burst into thousands of tiny sparkles that swirled toward her. With a whizz and a fizz and a zip-zip-zip, the sparkles gathered into a column of light.

  Cassie’s heart skipped a beat as the light changed into a beautiful woman. She held a wand that was tipped with a twinkling star, and all her clothes were silver. Star-shaped buttons glittered on the cuffs of her shiny jacket, and she wore a glistening crown.

  The woman smiled and her velvety blue eyes twinkled.

  “Hi, Stella!” cried Cassie, running to hug her.

  “What a nice welcome,” Stella said in her soft, warm voice. “And what pretty strawberries.”

  “Try them!” said Cassie, holding out her basket.

  Stella chose a strawberry. “It’s heart shaped!” she said. Then she tasted it. “Mmm, delicious!” She touched Cassie’s bracelet with her wand. “You’ve earned five charms already.”

  Cassie nodded. “If I earn two more,” she said, “I’ll become a true Lucky Star, just like you.”

  “Yes, but until then, you must keep listening for someone to make a wish,” said Stella. “When you become a Lucky Star, you won’t need to wait — you’ll be able to grant any wish you like, whenever you feel it’s right.” She smiled. “Do you like your new cupcake charm?”

  “It’s great,” said Cassie, “but I don’t know what power it has. Can you tell me?” she asked. “Or maybe give me a clue?”

  Stella raised her wand above Cassie’s head, and bright light shone down from it.

  It seemed like Cassie was standing in a spotlight! She twirled like a ballerina. “Do I look like a star onstage?” she asked, laughing.

  Stella smiled. “Not everybody enjoys being in the spotlight, Cassie.” She winked and popped another heart-shaped strawberry into her mouth. Then, with a wave of her wand, she vanished behind a veil of silvery sparkles.

  As the sparkles drifted away, Cassie turned toward home, thinking about what Stella had said.

  Not everybody enjoys being in the spotlight. . . .

  Was that a clue?

  #1: Wish Upon a Friend

  #2: Wish Upon a Pet

  #3: Wish Upon a Song

  #4: Wish Upon a Party

  #5: Wish Upon a Superstar

  #6: Wish Upon a Gift

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Working Partners Limited, Stanley House, St. Chad’s Place, London WC1X 9HH, United Kingdom.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-53208-2

  Text copyright © 2012 by Working Partners Limited

  Cover art © 2012 by Scholastic Inc.

  Interior art copyright © 2012 by Karen Donnelly

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Working Partners Limited. Series created by Working Partners Limited, London.

  SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. LUCKY STARS is a trademark of Working Partners Limited.

  First Scholastic printing, October 2012

  Cover art by Jo Taylor

  Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll