Zach has always dreamed of having a cool dog. But when his parents surprise him with a mutt named Larry, Zach is beyond disappointed – that is until Larry wags his tail saving Zach from an abnormally tall bully. After a few more magical tail wags, Zach decides that maybe Larry isn’t such a bad pet after all. Although, the authors capture Zach’s sarcastic tone, the story falls a little flat. A shrunken bully, a stereotypical nerdy cousin who is allergic to everything, and saving a friendship with a dog-made rainbow are just a few of the predictable subplots and clichéd characters that make Labracadabra lukewarm at best. The black and white charcoal illustrations are the one redeeming quality about the book. Beginning readers will enjoy the brevity of easy-to-read chapters, but more advanced readers may be as disappointed with the book as Zach was with his dog, Larry.