Witchycakes: Puddles and Potions (Book 3)

March 3, 2026

Witchycakes #3: Puddles and Potions by Ariane Moreira, Kara LaReau
Genres: Family, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction / Readers / Beginner
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

Witchycakes is back with its third book: Puddles and Potions. Little Blue is trying to help their mother in the bakery to prepare their booth for the Spring Festival. While Mama Moon is preoccupied, witch-in-training Blue notices a special bottle labelled, Perfect Potion. She borrows the bottle without asking and goes about her errands. When she encounters tricky moments throughout her day, she spritzes the potion to make things go smoothly. When she admits to her mother that she used the whole potion bottle, Mama Moon has a surprise to share of her own: maybe the bottle wasn’t so magical after all. A great ending suggesting that confidence and a shift of mindset can change your day–no magic required.

Another great original story from the Witchycakes series featuring Blue with they/them pronouns and their trusty sidekick seagull, Gully. Bright, colorful illustrations on each page makes this a great early chapter book series for new readers.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Review by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

Hazel the Handful

March 3, 2026

Hazel the Handful by Jamie Michalak, Matt Myers
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 1536231193
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, Family, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Hazel the pooch is a beloved family dog. Is he a handful? Yes, just like his special girl, Bea who he spends all his time with. Together they go about their daily routine, which Hazel calls, “sensational!” Everything changes when the baby is born. Hazel must compete for attention from his special Bea, and he doesn’t understand the smells coming from the baby’s bottom. Everything has changed: the daily walks, the comments from strangers walking by, and the games they used to play. When Hazel makes a big accident, she hides under her special blanket. Bea and Hazel snuggle and find a game they can all play together. Maybe the baby isn’t so bad after all.

A sweet and humorous book about changes in the family after a baby from the dog’s point of view. Cute illustrations. Kids will love Hazel’s sassy speech bubble comments. Lovely Black family representation. For ages 4-6.

Review by Gia Charles, Patten Free LIbrary, Bath

Unicornia: The Cupcake Contest (Book 3)

February 28, 2026February 28, 2026

Unicornia: The Cupcake Contest: (A Magical Chapter Book for Kids Ages 5-7 about Friendship, Fairness, and Solving Sweet Challenges) by Ana Punset, Diana Vicedo
ISBN: 1536241024
Genres: Adventure, Children's Beginning Readers, Fantasy, Humor
Format: Chapter Book Fiction, Early Reader
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
five-stars

In the third book of the Unicornia series, Claudia is determined to master the tricky art of baking with magical ingredients. Her passion for cooking is quickly derailed when her experiments with the recipe ingredients get completely out of hand. The butter bounces away and the frosting foams all throughout the kitchen. She enlists the help of an experienced friend named Sasha, and together they sign up for the Cupcake Contest. At first they can’t agree on anything, but Claudia realizes that they both have something to learn from the other. When things don’t go to plan during the Cupcake Contest, it might have been the best mistake yet! Again, Diana Vicedo’s illustrations are on almost every page and work harmoniously with Ana Punset’s engaging writing style.

Another fantastic addition to the Unicornia series. Kids who are new to reading chapter books will want to (literally) eat this up. Ages 5-8.

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

One Day a Mayfly

February 27, 2026

One Day a Mayfly by Michael Speechley, Shirley Marr
ISBN: 1536243612
Genres: Adventure, Nature, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

Today is the day! A mayfly emerges and dries off her wings. She has come out of the city pond and a girl in a yellow raincoat notices her. Mayflies only live for one day, and a frog in the pond tells her so. So with her birthday hat on, she goes to explore the city. She meets another mayfly and enjoys every moment. There are signs throughout the city showing aspects of the daily grind, and the symbolism of “seizing the day” is subtly told through the mayfly’s experience. This has a very basic plot, but relies on the visual storytelling. The story is told through a vertical narrative, where you need to flip the book sideways to read it. A good reminder for parents reading the story, and an interesting story for kids to learn more about the life cycle of mayflies. Ages 4-8.

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

The Story Factory

February 27, 2026

The Story Factory by Jam Dong
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 1536230006
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
three-stars

“Once upon a time, all the books in the world were manufactured at one place–The Story Factory!” In this speculative world, stories are simply taken from the story factory, reused and recycled, and then made in a factory to be given out again. Everything was going normally, when all of a sudden the machine breaks. All the characters are wrong! The stories are out of order! The pieces of the stories explode into a million pieces. It’s up to the workers to collect the pieces and put them all into a big mixer. Another big BOOM and books with all new original material start falling from the sky. The villagers open the books and love the new stories. And now the Story Factory is used to create books with completely new and unique ideas.

This is a creative story written and illustrated by Jam Dong; her ode to using your imagination, especially in the age of AI. Her colorful illustrations and collage techniques are eye-catching. The font feels like the wrong choice. Ages 3-7.

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

Do You See the Tiger?

February 27, 2026February 27, 2026

Do You See the Tiger? by David Melling, Philip Ardagh
ISBN: 153624290X
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Fantasy
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

A fabulous rhyming book. The book starts, “One rainy night in London town, Penny and Daddy went down, down, down…” Daddy and Penny take the crowded subway only for her to realize that there’s a stripy tail in amongst the passengers. She exclaims that there’s a tiger on the train to her father, who thinks she is making up stories.

There’s a magical difference between the children on the train who see the tiger in disguise, and the distracted and oblivious adults who don’t notice him. It’s almost as if the tiger and the children are bewitched. The tiger jumps out of his disguise and scoops up a toddler’s bunny toy, acting as a hero! But even still, the father was reading the newspaper and thinks she’s using her imagination. This one is charming and amusing. The illustrations of little Penny cuddling up to the tiger feel very reminiscent of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, a British classic by Judith Kerr. Ages 3-7

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

Rez Kid

February 27, 2026

Rez Kid by Andrea Landry, Isabella Fassler
ISBN: 1525311255
Genres: Cultural / Native American, Family, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads
four-stars

This is a book that starts with a bullying moment on the bus. “Rez Kid!” a kid shouts as a Native girl gets on the bus and sits at the back, feeling sad and ashamed. When she gets home we see her spend time with different members of her family. She talks about what happened on the bus and asks for their advice.

The sensory writing is what really works here: the smell of herbal tea, the sound of her mothers hands moving through her bowl of beads, the feeling of shade beneath a tree while her horse drinks from a creek. The next time the kid on the bus yells, “Rez kid!” she stands up with pride and tells the kids on the bus how being on the reservation is something she loves. “I know the trails and the paths better than anyone. I grow my own food. My mama makes the best bannock.” she passes around pieces of the delicious dough. “My ancestors lived on my traditional lands. We speak our language, pray, dance powwow, smudge, snare rabbits and more.” She invites the kids to come on Friday after school to see the “rez” for what it is. One by one, the kids come off the bus as she shows them the beauty of the rez. How free it feels to be on the land, and how special her culture is.

This book excels at showing how an insult can be turned around to be used as a title of pride. The illustrations are created with pencil crayons and then finished digitally that beautifully capture the essence of nature on a reservation. A foreward explains what a reservation is and how they exist historically. Ages 4+

Review by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath

Scarlet Morning

February 26, 2026

Scarlet Morning (Scarlet Morning, #1) by N.D. Stevenson
Published by Quill Tree on September 23, 2025
ISBN: 0063210347
Pages: 427
Genres: Adventure, Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship
Format: Middle Grade Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

ND Stevenson’s first installment of a duology, and his first prose novel, is an exciting swashbuckling adventure set upon calamitously salty seas.

Fifteen years ago, the dreaded pirate Scarlet Morning murdered the beloved queen Hail Meridian. In response, pirates were hunted and killed. This precipitated a chain of events that destroyed the land and water, leaving Dickerson’s Sea a wasteland of glacier-like salt blocks and islands drifted with constantly blowing, toxic salt. Survival was difficult at best, particularly for Viola and Wilmur, who raised themselves from a very young age upon one of the most isolated islands of all.

Until one day, a ship appears, plowing through the nearly impassible salt blocks, and someone breaks down their door. It is the terrifying captain of the ship, Cadence Chase. She has come seeking a book that is in their possession; in exchange, they demand passage off the island.

Viola and Wilmur find that while everyone knows pirates were eradicated, the ragtag bunch crewing the ship are awfully…pirate like. When the ship is attacked and they are suddenly separated, the two friends must survive without each other for the first time in their lives. But finding their way back to one another is not their only goal, for as Viola comes to realize, they are also the best hope for saving the enigma that is Scarlet Morning, and in turn, Dickerson’s Sea itself.

This book is truly fantastic. It will appeal to so many readers – both fans of ND Stevenson’s previous work, and also new readers who love adventure, pirate stories, mysterious characters and the drama of long-held secrets. Stevenson has somehow captured the multitudes we all contain, giving so many readers the chance to see themselves reflected. It is a tale that will appeal to those exploring the limits of who they are, and their place in the world, found family, loving friendship, and universal acceptance; but then again, it’s also a layered, rollicking good pirate story with unique, beautifully executed world building. That’s a tall order for a middle grade book, but Scarlet Morning delivers. Partial and full page black and white illustrations, also by Stevenson, add to the drama. The end is a cliffhanger that leaves readers ready for the next installment as soon as possible.

Highly recommend; 5 stars, cream.

-Jenny Martinez, Maine State Library

Unicornia: A Magical Birthday (Book 2)

February 18, 2026

Unicornia: A Magical Birthday: (A Magical Chapter Book for Kids Ages 5-7 about Friendship, Surprises, and Enchanted Birthday Fun) by Ana Punset, Diana Vicedo
Published by Candlewick Press ISBN: 1536240982
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship
Format: Chapter Book Fiction, Early Reader
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

In Book 2 of the Unicornia series, Claudia, Pippa, and Sara are preparing for Pippa’s birthday. There are so many magical, exciting things being planned for the special day, but when something goes drastically wrong. Pippa cancels the party and the girls are heartbroken. Sara and Claudia refuse to let their friend wallow on her birthday, and take her to the Enchanted Falls Theme Park to cheer her up. Will the day be saved after all?

This book does a fantastic job of showing how to navigate a friend’s experience with sadness and how to support them through the ups and downs of their feelings. This beginner chapter book has eye-catching illustrations on each page to keep readers’ attention and the writing is very interactive. Kids will literally want to gobble this book up with all the mentions of magical sweets. Who could resist magical flying unicorn rescues and fantastical rollercoasters? Best for Ages 5-8.

Reviewed by Gia Charles, Patten Free Library, Bath