Now that spooky season is almost upon is, it’s time to magic up a list of our fave witchy books. But be warned: they’ll put a spell on you!
Aster and the Accidental Magic
By Thom Pico
Illustrated by Karensac
224 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593118849 | Random House Graphic
Quiet . . . birds . . . nature. . . . That’s what Aster expects when her parents move their whole family to the middle of nowhere. It’s just her (status: super-bored), her mom and dad (status: busy with science), her brother (status: has other plans), and . . . magic? In her new home, Aster meets a mysterious old woman with a herd of dogs who gives her a canine companion of her own. But when she and her dog Buzz are adventuring in the forest, they run into a trickster spirit who gives Aster three wishes. After wishing for the ability to understand and talk to her dog, she becomes only able to talk in dog language . . . and the trouble she gets into is just starting. Maybe the middle of nowhere will be more interesting than Aster thought.
Escape to Witch City
By E. Latimer
312 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781101919316 | Tundra Books
Emmaline Black has a secret. She can hear the rhythm of heartbeats. Not just her own, but others’ too. It’s a rhythm she’s learned to control, and that can only mean one thing . . . Emma’s a witch. In a world where a sentence of witchcraft comes with dire consequences and all children who have reached the age of thirteen are tested to ensure they have no witch blood, Emma must attempt to stamp out her power before her own test comes. But the more she researches, the more she begins to suspect that her radically anti-witch aunt and mother are hiding something – the truth about their sister, her Aunt Lenore, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances years ago. The day of the test comes, and Emma’s results not only pair her up with strange new friends, but set her on a course to challenge everything she’s ever been taught about magic, and reveal long-buried family secrets. It seems witches may not have been so easy to banish after all. Secret cities, untapped powers, missing family members – Emma is about to discover a whole new world.
Evie and the Truth About Witches
By John Martz
64 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271005 | Tundra Books
Evie wants to be scared, and the usual scary stories just aren’t doing it for her anymore. When she stumbles across a different sort of book, The Truth about Witches, she hopes she’s found something thrilling . . . but she’s forbidden by a kindly shopkeeper from reading the last page out loud! Naturally, her curiosity gets the better of her, and upon reading the last page out loud – a real summoning spell – Evie is spirited off to a strange land of magic, weird creatures, feasts, and actual witches! They’re not as scary as they seem, until Evie asks to join their ranks . . . and only once she does is her quest for true scariness satisfied . . .
Little Witch Hazel
By Phoebe Wahl
96 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735264892 | Tundra Books
Little Witch Hazel is a tiny witch who lives in the forest, helping creatures big and small. She’s a midwife, an intrepid explorer, a hard worker and a kind friend. In this four-season volume, Little Witch Hazel rescues an orphaned egg, goes sailing on a raft, solves the mystery of a haunted stump and makes house calls to fellow forest dwellers. But when Little Witch Hazel needs help herself, will she get it in time? Little Witch Hazel is a beautiful ode to nature, friendship, wild things and the seasons that only Phoebe Wahl could create: an instant classic and a book that readers will pore over time and time again.
Merry Witchmas
By Petrell Ozbay and Tess LaBella
Illustrated by Sonya Abby
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781635923186 | Boyds Mills Press
Ginger spends a lot of her time creating spells, and flying through the night on her broom. But she is different from the other witches – because she also ADORES Christmas! Even with Ginger’s good deeds and endless Christmas cheer, she’s never received a single visit from Santa. What’s a Christmas-loving Halloween witch supposed to do? In this twist on the Christmas holiday’s traditional “believe” concept, Ginger’s wish of a Merry Witchmas comes true thanks to some holiday magic and good cheer.
River Magic
By Ellen Booraem
256 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780525428046 | Dial Books
Donna’s always liked her life by the river – that is, until her beloved aunt Annabelle died in a tragic kayaking accident. Now money’s tight, her mom works all the time, and her best friend, Rachel, would rather hang out with her basketball teammates than with Donna. When a strange old woman moves in next door and hires Donna to clean part-time, she figures this is the perfect chance to get over her friendship troubles and help her family out – especially since the woman pays in gold. Turns out, Donna’s new neighbor is an ancient, ornery thunder mage, and it doesn’t take much to make her angry. Before Donna knows it, Rachel is in danger and Donna’s family is about to lose their home. To save the day, Donna will need the help of a quirky new friend and the basketball team . . . plus the mysterious, powerful creature lurking in the river.
The Hungry Ghosts
By Miguel Flores
336 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780451479785 | Viking BFYR
Witches have been banned from Arrett for years. Which is why Milly has tried to ignore the tingling light that appears in her palm anytime she conjures up a wish. She has too many responsibilities as the oldest girl at St. George’s Orphanage to get caught up in magicks. Sweet, quirky Cilla, though, has always longed for that power, even if it could be dangerous for her. Milly has always kept an eye out for her, but then, in a case of mistaken identity, Cilla is kidnapped by an angry, exiled witch who believes she’s the one with magicks – not Milly. Desperate to bring Cilla back to St. George’s, Milly sets out to find her with a sarcastic young Wind stuck in the form of a cat as her companion. Along the way, they meet an independent young broomstick and gentle giant – and a whole world Milly has never seen before. As she searches high and low for Cilla, one thing becomes clear: she’ll have to face the stirrings of forbidden magicks inside herself in order to rescue a friend who has become more like a sister.
The Legend of the Christmas Witch
By Dan Murphy and Aubrey Plaza
Illustrated by Julia Iredale
56 Pages | Ages 5-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593350805 | Viking BFYR
Gather ‘round the fire to hear a Christmas legend that has never been told before . . . until now. Each year a mysterious figure sweeps into town, leaving behind strange gifts in the night. No, not Santa Claus, but his sister . . . The Christmas Witch. Her story begins many, many years ago when her brother was torn away from her as a child. Raised alone by a witch of the woods, Kristtōrn’s powers of magic grew, as did her temper. Determined to find her long lost twin, she set out on a perilous journey across oceans to find him. But what she found instead was a deep-seated fear of her powers and a confrontation that would leave the fate of Christmas hanging in the balance.
There’s a Witch in Your Book
By Tom Fletcher
Illustrated by Greg Abbott
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593125151 | Random House BFYR
A grumpy little witch has thrown a magic spell at you! If you can capture it, you can use your finger wand to make magic yourself in this interactive book. But, be careful! Your bewitched finger wand might be more powerful than you think! Look for Tom Fletcher and Greg Abbott’s companion books for more read-aloud fun: There’s a Dragon in Your Book, There’s an Elf in Your Book, There’s an Alien in Your Book, and There’s a Superhero in Your Book!
Twitchy Witchy Itch
By Priscilla Tey
40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780763689810 | Candlewick
Itch the witch is having company over for tea. As the clock counts down to tea o’clock, Itch’s mind is in a tizzy: is her house too twitchy? Is her home too itchy? Zipping and zooming, dusting and brooming, Itch sweeps and bewitches the mess away (just in the nick of time). But as soon as her two guests walk in, Itch’s housekeeping comes unraveled. How will Itch tame such an itchy, glitchy, fidgety mess? Rising star Priscilla Tey uses computer-aided design (and evokes familiar computer glitches) to present a delightfully meta, intricately illustrated story that dazzles as it amuses.
Where’s the Witch?
Illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
10 Pages | Ages 0-2 | Board Book
ISBN 9781536207538 | Nosy Crow
Gently spooky creatures hide behind bright felt flaps in this Halloween offering. A perfect book to share with very little ones. Five stylishly illustrated spreads show a series of gently spooky creatures hiding behind bright felt flaps in this Halloween offering. A mirror on the final spread makes for a satisfying ending to the book’s search-and-find inquiries. A perfect book to share with very little ones.
Witches of Brooklyn
By Sophie Escabasse
240 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780593119273 | Random House Graphic
Could there really be witches in Brooklyn?! Effie’s aunts are weird. Like, really WEIRD. Really, really, really WEIRD! The secretly-magic kind of weird and that makes Effie wonder . . . does this mean she can do magic, too? Life in Brooklyn takes a strange twist for Effie as she learns more about her family and herself. With new friends who will do whatever they can to be there for her, a cursed pop-star, and her magically-inclined aunts – Effie’s life is about to get interesting.
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