Sweet Magic (Witchycakes #1)

Baking, magic, and compassion are the main ingredients of this gentle early chapter book series launch by LaReau (the Infamous Ratsos series). Witch-in-training Blue delivers magic-enhanced pastries from their mother’s fantastical bakery, Witchycakes, to customers throughout Shelville. Each seaside community inhabitant, portrayed with varying skin tones, is experiencing a crisis: young Jib’s pet guinea pig has escaped, overwhelmed Mrs. Sanderson is too exhausted to make lunch for her hungry children, and grocery store owner Mr. Haddock is mourning his late dog. When Blue’s half-baked magic fails to solve the peoples’ woes, Blue uses their ingenuity to conjure nonmagical solutions. Alongside Mama Moon’s delicious baked goods, the intrepid protagonist serves up ample empathy and wit as they explore Shelville and immerse themselves in their neighbor’s daily lives. The large cast’s imaginative, seaside-related names (Gully, Pearl, Ms. Crabbe, Barnacle, Skipper, etc.) add cheeky personality to a story that’s as sweet as Mama Moon’s Beach Crumble. Clean, softly shaded full-color artwork by Moreira depicts the passage of time (individual chapters take place at morning, noon, afternoon, dusk, and evening) and includes bustling page borders showcasing beach, pastry, and witchy paraphernalia. A recipe concludes. Publishing simultaneously: Changing Magic. Ages 6–9. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Aevitas Creative. Illustrator’s agent: Alex Gehringer, Bright Agency. (Aug.)