Spellbound: An Enchanting New Arrival by Jess Townes (Author) and Jenn Harney (Illustrator)
Willow is a darling young girl, probably 3 to 4 years old, who is very much used to bedazzling her family.
Whenever she does a cute trick, her family absolutely loves it. They look at her with the adoring gaze reserved for the only young member of the family. That is until baby Rowan comes along.
As Willow is convinced that she is a powerful magician who can do endless tricks, she doesn’t understand how this new baby brother can enchant everyone he meets.
The rivalry and feelings displayed by her are perfectly spot-on. She cannot understand why daddy, mommy, and grandma are so smitten by the little kid, and she decides that this baby must be a powerful, real-life wizard.
She must stop him! And she does so by misbehaving and taking his magic tricks. However, as a consequence, she might end up being trapped with the baby until they come to better terms.
This tale is funny and endearing to the very end.
A word about representation and diversity, though. This is the first picture book I have seen in a very long time that boasts a family that’s exclusively blond and white. There is not one character who is not very much blonde or very much white. Grandma has white hair. Baby is hairless, but his fair skin is reminiscent to me of illustrations from a bygone era.
I am so used to talking about the importance of representation, and how very few segments of the publishing industry depict alternate characters (from every race, and culture), that I forgot that this is still very much the norm.
Spellbound is available on June 21, 2022.
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Publish Date: June 21, 2022
Pages: 30
Type: Hardcover Picture Book
Category: Juvenile / Picture Books
Age Range: 3 to 5
ISBN: 9781454937890
