Non-Fiction Book Review - 'How to Be a Witch' by Gabrielle Balkan (Writer), Shana Gozansky (Writer), Carmen Saldaña (Illustrator)

What a lovely, sweet picture book that's a contemporary, introductory guide to real witches and witchcraft for children. I can't believe I'd never heard of it until a few days ago - I just happened to see it on another person's Goodreads shelf. Thank you for that, fellow witchy reader!

'How to Be a Witch' is very inclusive and diverse, which is another reason to love it; that and the adorable, warm and colourful pencilled, illustrious illustrations, the facts - including lots on nature - and the small spells to start with at the book's coda.

'How to Be a Witch' - 'Anyone can be a witch - even you!'


'Witches are people who learn and practice magic,
and use their magic to help and to heal.'


'There's magic inside you, too.
You are brave and bold, creative and smart, caring
and powerful, just as all witches are. So...

Step out into nature, gather your tools, stir up your
potions, create your spells, focus your mind, feel
your power, and share your magic with the world!'


Other recommended witchy picture books: 'Sunday The Sea Witch', 'Witch in Training', 'The Witchling's Wish', 'Leila, the Perfect Witch', 'Once Upon a Witch's Broom', 'The Witching Hour', 'My Mummy is a Witch', 'Witch Hazel', 'A Spoonful of Frogs', and 'Little Witch's To-Do List'.

Final Score: 4/5

Book Review - 'I Am NOT a Prince' by Rachael Davis (Writer), Beatrix Hatcher (Illustrator)

Oh, what a delightful, colourful and cute kids' LBGTQ+ fairy tale picture book!

'I Am NOT a Prince' truly is a darling and daringly-told queer coming-of-age tale, all about a little froggy.

I'm not usually into animal stories - much less the often disingenuous and insincere 'animals as metaphor in place of social issues' stories - but this is lovely, infectious and irresistible.

Among its many adorable features are rainbows, an owl, a bear, a lizard wizard (heh), dragons, unicorns, mermaids, princesses, and a ladybug on every page. The rhyming is adorable, too.

(How clever, also, that no gendered pronouns are assigned to Hopp the frog throughout the book.)

'I Am NOT a Prince' - one of the best, most charming LBGTQ+ children's picture books out there, alongside 'A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo', 'And Tango Makes Three', 'Prince & Knight', 'My Magic Family', 'My Shadow is Pink', ''Twas the Night Before Pride', 'Steven Universe: The Answer', 'The Big Day', 'Cinder & Ella', 'Maiden & Princess', 'Heather Has Two Mummies', 'Molly's Family', 'Love, Violet', 'Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn', 'Marley's Pride', and 'ABC Pride'.

Anyone can be a hero. And a hero for self-acceptance, self-love, and pride.

And I think I really like frogs. They're cute, aren't they?

Free cheers for diverse princesses! Hip hop hooray!

Hops away!

Final Score: 5/5

Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Girl Rebels: From Greta Thunberg to Malala, Five Inspirational Tales of Courage' by Various

I happened upon this at a random shop today, and wow am I glad to read about real, inspiring women and girls again. It's what I, and everybody else, needs.

'Girl Rebels: From Greta Thunberg to Malala, Five Inspirational Tales of Courage' is a comic collection telling the real life journeys and triumphs of six extraordinary, altruistic, noble, selfless, brave, determined young girl activists (plus others, such as their sisters), who never gave up in a toxic, violent, patriarchal world that hates and fears them, and loves to tear them down at every opportunity:

Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Syrian swimming champion and refugee (and saviour of and voice for refugees) Yusra Mardini, her sister Sara Mardini, school shooting survivor and fighter for US gun control Emma (X) González (and her surviving school friends, including Jaclyn Corin), and Bali/Indonesian ecologists and founders of Bye Bye Plastic Bags Melati Wijsen and Isabel Wijsen.

They are far from the only young women fighting for a better world today - in ethics and politics - but they are who the book covers.

Through all the darkness, there is light: it is truly inspirational and life-affirming to be reminded of what humans, when they work together, are capable of; with enough courage, brains, heart, passion, and perseverance, and the unrelenting resolve to tell the truth, to make their voices heard, no matter the obstacles.

I guess my four out of five star rating is due to a couple tiny issues I have with an artwork or two, including outright errors (although a lot of it is great, don't get me wrong), and current 2026 cynicism and hopelessness (this came out in 2023).

With every reminder that, inexplicably and inescapably, things are in fact getting worse, and the world is run by literally the worst people - that evil is real, that monsters are real, and capitalism and the white supremacist patriarchy and the right wing have made it possible - it's books like 'Girl Rebels' that also remind us that hope still exists. And it is thanks to the incredible efforts and bravery of girls and women, the pioneers of progress and caring about others, and therefore society's oldest targets of scapegoating, scorn, hate, fear and bigotry.

Girls should run the world. They are the ones who can save us all. And here is the proof. Here is why.

We just have to listen to them.

(It's great to read about Greta and Malala again, as well.)

Final Score: 4/5

Happy Women in STEM Day

 Happy International Day for Women and Girls in Science! Past and present! 🧪🧪🧪🥼🥼🥼🥽🥽🥽

Graphic Novel Review - 'Arcana: The Lost Heirs' by Sam Prentice-Jones

A nice, contemporary queer fantasy graphic novel, reminiscent of 'Les Normaux' and 'Doughnuts and Doom', with even a bit of 'Wash Day Diaries', and Marvel's 'Runaways' for older readers.

I like 'Arcana''s motif around tarot cards, and what they represent for each of the key players in the story, and just the overall magic, friendship and found family theme. Nearly every character is so nice and sweet!

These witches - these "lost heirs" - are great as a group. They are wonderfully diverse, and open, understanding and communicative - there are no secrets between them, there is trust, unlike with their shifty older authority figures - and their Halloween party costumes near the end of the comic are fantastic!

There is explicit queer and trans rep, and a character who is referred to by he/him/they/them pronouns; plus a vast array of POC and body positive rep.

The art is adorable, simplistic, colourful and expressive.

And it's a British queer fantasy series!

'Arcana: The Lost Heirs' is a first volume and it ends on a cliffhanger, but I really like these characters, their individual lives, their relationships with one another, and the magic system implemented. Its slowly growing dark mystery is intriguing, too (what exactly is the curse that the young witch team must break?). There is another important theme of breaking and changing archaic traditions and "family legacies" in modern times for necessary reasons, and nepotism, toxic and abusive patriarchal roles, and generational trauma.

Overall, I recommend it for any fantasy lover.

Though, as a sidenote, it is a bit odd for a story about witches and a secret witch society/government/MI6 to not have familiars, or any animal at all present.

Final Score: 4/5

Scribble #152

Diamond Haiku:

Fear an Independent Woman

Whore. Witch.

They call me names,

They sentence me to death.

They wanted to

For a long time before,

As I kept to myself.

I'm different.

Slut. Witch.

Scribble #151

Alice Oseman - Metaphor Haikus

Alice Oseman's books

and comics I so relate,

They give love and hope.

Her works are sunshine

Even through rain and thunder

There is a rainbow.

Always a rainbow

And it shines on everyone,

All flags included.

Representation

Inclusion and love and help,

That's Rainbow Alice.