Spelling Lesson! Clever Little Witch by Muen Thj Van

Linh is the island's cleverest little witch. She's got all the right stuff--a trusty flying broom, a book of magical spells, and the right familiar--a magical pet to help her!

But she's got something else that is not a magical asset:

A BABY BROTHER!

In case you don't know, a baby brother is trouble. He tries to ride your broom, boo-hooing when he crashes and gets a boo-boo! He chews the pages from your spell book and spits them up.

Linh tries giving him away.

I OFFERED BABY PHU TO THE TROLL BENEATH THE BRIDGE, BUT HE SAID "THANKS, BUT NO THANKS!"

The Forest Fairy can't deal with dirty diapers. The Orphanage sends him back for keeping all the little werewolves awake!

So Linh decides to turn him into something less annoying than a baby brother--a gold fish! He's already eaten half of the page with the spell for turning brothers into goldfish, but Linh figures she can wing the rest.

FROM THE TIP OF YOUR NOSE
TO THE TOP OF YOUR TOES,
BUBBLE EYES, MARBLE SIZE,
LET ME SEE THOSE FISHY EYES!

Her spell works--sort of. First her baby brother becomes a hoppy frog, and then clumsy seal. The third try is the worst of all.

HE BECAME A DRAGON!

Dragons are WAY more trouble than baby brothers, as Linh learns in Clever Little Witch (Margaret K. Elderberry Books, 2019), and Linh decides that she's going to have to give her spelling tests a rest and let her baby brother grow up the usual way. Artist Yum Hyewon's little witch is endearing as well as daring, and her baby brother manages to be adorable, even as a dragon, making this brother-sister duo a engaging pair without a scare for spooky season reading. As Kirkus Reviews says, "A charming take on sibling rivalry."

Lost Sock? There's a Witch in My Dryer by Linda Lee Cross

There was a little girl who would sit quietly on the floor and watch her mother tend the laundry.

"The dryer never loses anything!" she said.

But where do those missing socks go? And the little girl also wonders what makes those strange metallic clangs and clickety sounds coming from the dryer. Her mother says they were just lost pennies and nickles stuck in the dryer, but the girl isn't too sure about that. She asked why she never sees any nickels and pennies when she opens the dryer door. Could there be something like a witch hiding there?

"I remember when I was a little girl I would ask your grandmother the same questions," her mom replies.

And when Grandmother comes for a visit, the little girl tells her about the mysterious sounds, and her grandmother smiles and pulls an old flashlight out of her bag.

"This magic flashlight will only work for those who truly do believe."

That night the little girl can hardly wait. When all is quiet, she turns on the flashlight and tiptoes downstairs to the dryer.

There IS a witch in there, a nice witch all dressed for Halloween, and the little girl notices that she is wearing one of those missing red-and-white striped socks, in Linda Lee Cross's There's a Witch in My Dryer (iUniverse, 2018). Borrowing from the old house elf stories of folklore, author Cross has a modern story with her little trickster hiding, not in a cabinet or pot, but in the dryer. Youngsters MAY be inspired to investigate those strange sounds in their own dryers!

Standing Room Only! Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson

The witch had a cat and a hat that was black....

She's just your ordinary, regulation witch, warts and all, when she and her purring feline familiar take off for some witchery by the light of a full moon.

But this witch seems not quite able to keep it together.

First she loses her pointy hat, but a dog retrieves that. And then he asks THE question:

I am a dog,
As keen as can be.
Is there room on the broom
For a dog like me?

The witch and cat make room and up they zoom... until the witch loses the bow on her braid. But a big black bird finds the bow, and with a simple request, just like that, off they all go, witch, dog, bird, and cat.

So far so good, until...

They shot through the sky
To the Back of Beyond.
The witch clutched her bow,
But let go of her wand.

A witch without a wand just can't go on, so there's another emergency landing. But down on the ground it's nowhere to be found, until from the bog comes a frog with the dripping wet wand:

He dropped it politely
Then said with a croak,
As the witch dried the wand
on a fold of her cloak:

I'm a frog,
Clean as can be,
Is there room on the broom
For a frog like me?

Of course there is, but there is yet another obstacle to their mission, a fire-breathing sky dragon in the mood for a crispy witch entree' with a side of critter fries.

But with a nod to the tale of the Brementown Musicians, this witch gets by with a little help from her keen, clean, and clever friends, in this new lap-sized board book version, Room on the Broom Board Book (Dial Books, 2017 (New Am. Ed.), and in this delightful cumulative tale, the witch stirs up a new and improved broom with comfy seating for all her friends.

Julia Donaldson's leisurely rhyming narrative provides plenty of room to interpolate funny voices and spooky sound effects, making this one of the very best picture books for Halloween read-alouds. This large-sized edition shows off artist Alex Scheffler's terrific, detailed, and comic illustrations that extend the text in a story that merits many readings. And for a killer-diller combo, share this one with Linda William's wonderful The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything for a drop-dead Halloween duo.