I LOVE MY MAGIC!

Magic: What’s not to love?

Willow, a young witch, loves her wand, which magically whisks stuff her way when she brandishes it. Everything Willow wants to accomplish, she does. She attributes her very witchiness to it. Alas, the teacher (a mummy in a yellow dress) at the school for cryptids Willow attends confiscates the wand when our witch unfairly uses it to score a goal during a soccer game. Afterward, Willow cleans up, waters the plants, and plays with her mythological schoolmates—a pint-sized Dracula, unicorn, werewolf, and a dragon who uses a wheelchair, among others—without magical intervention. When the wand is returned, Willow claims she’d forgotten about it, realizing she hadn’t needed it. Willow concedes that though her wand’s great, she doesn’t have to use it for everything to be a witch. She seems to understand her own abilities and talents are what’s really magical, and she can be a witch without the wand. Intended to reassure readers about their own strengths, this message may go over more literal-minded children’s heads, who might wonder how someone can be a witch without their powers. The vividly colored digital illustrations fare better: They’re lively and sweetly appealing, and the cryptid students are endearing. Unusually, text is set in all capitals. Exuberant, purple-haired Willow has light-brown skin; other humanoid characters are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cheery reminder that true magic lies within.