cover image The Witchling’s Wish

The Witchling’s Wish

Lu Fraser, illus. by Sarah Massini. Bloomsbury, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5476-0906-2

A lonely young Witchling’s plan to conjure a friend goes gently awry in this sweet-natured, jauntily rhyming tale. The Witchling, portrayed with pale skin, doesn’t mind the bed beetles or dripping ceiling of her cozily appointed cave home, but she longs for a friend to take up the emptiness in her heart. Though her spell book has just the recipe, when she flies off in search of a special ingredient—“some furriness” from a one-eyed teddy bear—a crash landing offers friendship in another child, portrayed with brown skin. Fraser’s bouncy text carries readers through the night sky at a good clip, while Massini’s playful mixed-media artwork introduces two winning characters turned kindred spirits. Ages 3–6. (July)