BOO-LA-LA WITCH SPA

It seems even witches like to treat themselves to a bit of TLC after the frenzy of Halloween.

Berger follows a pleasant young witch who “feels worn out and majorly blah,” so “she books herself into the fab-BOO Witch Spa.” The rhyming couplets relentlessly describe every detail, including (but not limited to) “toadstool-and-skunk candles filling the air, / and paths of black rose petals, scattered with care.” She luxuriates in the Broom Bristle Facial, a Serpent Spit Spritzer, and a Scalp Scrub administered by a couple of spiders. Roxas has fun illustrating the action in a wide range of full-bleed spreads, framed pages, and vignettes. A particularly silly scene showcases the witch in a massage chair reading such magazines as Craftsmopolitan and VooDoo-y Fair. Kids will especially like seeing how the witch’s familiar, a black cat, enjoys the spa. But a little cleverness goes a long way. Without any real plot, the spa day begins to drag on. By the time the witch is enjoying lunch (Hex-Mex and Jinx-Drinks), most readers will be ready for this slim tale to be over.

The excess smothers any potential oohs and aahs.