Alcatoe and the Turnip Child

Alcatoe the witch likes hiding away in Plum Woods. She lives with her enchanted kettle and her chair that can run about. Her fellow witches aren’t that keen on her, especially Goonwartha, head of the Witches’ Social Club.

When three kids knock on her door and ask for her help to get revenge on the grumpy Mr Pokeweed, Alcatoe takes the chance to show up Goonwartha. Together, they plan to grow a magic, superb turnip to outshine Mr Pokeweed’s at the Harvest Festival Vegetable Pageant. Little do the children know that Alcatoe has plans to cause chaos with this turnip because Goodwartha is the pageant judge.

After the kids gather the magical ingredients, which is lots of fun, Alcatoe performs her spell. And once the chaos is unleashed, everyone eventually learns to be inclusive and kind.

This is a large-format book with colour illustrations and some speech bubbles, as well as short pieces of text, making it very accessible for less confident readers. There are a lot of fun witchy details to spot in the autumnal-coloured artwork, while the interaction between the children and the turnip child is charming. Quirky and unique, this will appeal to anyone wanting to read something very different.