Alcatoe and the Turnip Child (Alcatoe #1)

Lenkiewicz (Triassic Terrors) sets this mischievous graphic novel in a community of witches that exists adjacent to an ordinary British suburb. Tan-skinned Alcatoe, the small, crabby witch who narrates, admits she might be responsible for some friction between the Plum Woods witches and Plumtown’s inhabitants (“The townsfolk never really appreciated my youth club for worms”). Self-important Goonwartha, the pale-skinned head of the witch’s social club, believes its harvest festival will result in better PR. Approached by Chris, Holly, and Emma—three human children, all portrayed with brown skin—Alcatoe sends them to find ingredients for a spell to create a turnip child. The kids hope it will beat their grouchy neighbor’s prize turnip entry, while Alcatoe intends to spoil Goonwartha’s vegetable pageant in the bargain. Polished artwork in a palette of autumnal hues and smoky blue-grays represents a succession of busy, seasonably appropriate scenes, featuring Alcatoe’s kitchen, the local pub, and Goonwartha’s limelight-stealing familiar. It’s a story that trundles merrily along, eschewing scariness in favor of action, humor, and irascible revenge. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)