Magic, magical creatures and a spunky hero

I don't typically read middle-grade books, but I can see the immediate appeal of this book for the target audience (as well as anyone else who enjoys stories with magic and magical beasts). The story seems to be moving quickly as this first impression imparts a lot of information in just the first 15 pages. I do roll my eyes when books use simplified caricatures of the humorless, overly-strict teacher, especially considering the anti-education sentiment that seems to be prevalent in more places, but I'm hopeful that the teacher in this story (as well as the other characters) will be better developed over the course of the rest of the book.