Wands Away! Learning to Fly

Ramona Spellstar is about to head off for her first day at Wands Away School of Magic. Although excited, she is a little nervous; however, she soon makes friends and has fun in the forest, learning how to fly.

‘Wands Away! Learning to Fly’ is a delightful story, perfect for newly independent readers, tackling longer reads or for a special shared read.

Ramona’s nerves at starting somewhere new offer a great opportunity for discussing and sharing these feelings. As she talks things through with her mum, Ramona realises that these feelings are quite normal and that they should not stop her from looking forward to the new experiences and surprises that are waiting for her. Sharing a hot chocolate along with her worries also helps!

There are no mean children, no cliques and no wicked teachers for Ramona to contend with, making her time at school exciting, enjoyable and safe, reassuring little ones that their school experiences can be positive.

Ramona quickly makes friends and has great fun exploring the wonders of nature, discovering its secrets. Seeing the fun that Ramona, Cleo and Enrique have mapping their way through the forest is sure to inspire children to get out into nature themselves and perhaps create fun maps of their own, naming local features and locations in their own ‘magical’ way!

The illustrations are colourful, fun and appealing, adding much to the story. Although Ramona and her friends are the focus, there are some pages showing all the children in the class with speech bubbles showing what they are thinking, allowing children to develop an interest in the whole class who might, perhaps, feature more in stories to come!

Wands Away! Learning to Fly

Emma Farrarons

Simon and Schuster ISBN: 978-1398543614

Magic Ever After

Bea Black is still enjoying life in Little Spellshire. Things are much easier now her dad knows she is a witch-in-training and is happily in a relationship with Taffy Tallywick. But something’s up- her father seems obsessed with learning magic and Taffy is distracted by some Very Important Thinking which she has to do. Finally, Bea learns that they want to get married (there was kissing) which is wonderful, but means there is much to do…

Full of magical mishaps, strange situations and hilarious happenings, this is such an entertaining and engaging series! Bea is a delightful character, who is easy to identify with. Keen to do well, fit in and have fun, she makes mistakes and can be overly anxious about things, but is full of good heart and determination and is surrounded by good friends (and a loving dad!), meaning everything comes right in the end.

The story is presented in a diary format, highly illustrated and in easily read sections, offering a read which is both achievable and enjoyable and reassuringly familiar to those who have read the other books in the series. The focus of each shifts slightly, keeping the reader interested in Bea’s world and showing the importance of her home and school lives. In this story, more is learned about activities at school with a game of GO with Cats and the very entertaining Eggy Day where each egg delivers a truthbomb, but there is also plenty about her homelife as the wedding approaches and everything finally comes together for the perfect day.

A fabulous mix of magic and mischief, family and friendship, ‘Magic Ever After’ is a great addition to the series!

Diary of an Accidental Witch: Magic Ever After

Perdita and Honor Cargill, illustrated by Katie Saunders

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1788956109

You can read my review of ‘Ghostly Getaway’ here.