Happy Halloween!
It’s time for ghosts, goblins, spiders and skeletons, black cats, bats, witches and warlocks. Have you ever wondered what our spooky friends are up to before they venture out at night?
In Little Witch’s To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax and Kiersten Eve Eagan (Abrams Appleseed, 2025), a young witch manages her busy day by methodically tackling a variety of tasks one item at a time. It’s a good thing she’s made a list because there are so many things to finish before bedtime!
Cast a spell for sunshine
Fluff my cobweb bed
Feed my baby phoenix
Turn my black robe red
Once she’s donned her robe and pointy hat, she looks in the mirror, tries to grow a wart hair and practices her scowling. She’s quite determined to master her technique. 🙂
The fun continues with owl training, working on her magic-wand skills, brewing a bee-wing potion, then baking a toadstool cake. With a poof of her magic-wand, she even turns herself into a dragon!
Zax’s lively, playful rhymes are a joy to read aloud, and kids will be eager to see what Little Witch does next with every page turn. They might even wish to be just like her; after all, who wouldn’t want to fly on a broom?
Take a flying lesson
Try a loop the loop
Dip and drop and dangle
Swoop down to my stoop
Yes, please! As night falls, Little Witch takes a moonlit ride, gliding over a street bustling with neighborhood kids trick-or-treating. Soon it’s time to head home and wind down by reading her spell book, doing yoga with her cat, and taking a bubble bath.
The last thing she does is conjure up a little sweet-dream magic before cuddling in bed with her mom. As she drifts off to sleep, Little Witch is happy to know she’s checked everything off her Magical To-Do List. Well done!
Kiersten Eve Eagan’s bewitching cartoon-style illustrations will enchant and delight young readers. From the appealing cover with its glittery raised text, to the adorable endpapers and all the charming spreads within, Eagan has conjured up a sweet magical world just right for the littlest munchkins.
They’ll enjoy seeing where Little Witch spends time with her pets (owl, cat, snake, baby phoenix), noting that the shelves in her bedroom are stocked with potions and spell books. She also has a cool widow’s walk where she can summon bats from belfries.
My favorite spreads are the ones showing Little Witch winning at hide-and-seek (she can make herself invisible), and the Halloween night scene with its full moon, starry skies, lit windows and costumed kids. At the very end, there’s a pull-down gatefold showing her Magical To-Do List with glittery checkmarks, text, and tiny drawings.
With its gentle lessons on the importance of organization and time management, Little Witch’s To-Do List is an ideal Halloween or any day bedtime read. Kids may wish to make their own to-do lists, feeling a great sense of accomplishment as they check off completed items. What a nice way to make “work” feel like play! Share this imaginative gem soon; you’ll surely fall under its spell. 🙂
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LITTLE WITCH’S TO-DO LIST
written by Helen Kemp Zax
illustrated by Kiersten Eve Eagan
published by Abrams Appleseed, July 2025
Picture Book for ages 3-5, 40pp.
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🎉 🎈BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNER 🏆 🎃
Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway for a copy of The Gift of the Broken Teacup: Poems of Mindfulness, Meditation & Me by Allan Wolf and Jade Orlando.
We are very pleased to announce that the lucky winner is:
**drum roll please**
***trumpet fanfare***
****back flips and cartwheels****
🌺 MARGO SORSENSON!! 🐻
Congratulations, Margo. We know you will enjoy all the poems!!
👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
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Lovely and talented Jone MacCulloch is hosting this week’s Roundup with some spooky writing prompts. Mosey on over to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being shared around the blogosphere. Wishing you a fun and chocolaty Halloween and a joyous Día de Muertos over the weekend!
*Interior spreads text copyright © 2025 Helen Kemp Zax, illustrations © 2025 Kiersten Eve Eagan, published by Abrams Appleseed. All rights reserved.
**Copyright © 2025 Jama Rattigan of Jamaʻs Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.
Jama's Alphabet Soup 
A-DOR-able. What a sweet little story with depths of thinking for a little reader/listener. I was just talking about what time management is with a young teen yesterday. The more we can learn about that at young ages, the better for all. And, the illustrations and rhyme look fun and engaging. This type of book makes me think, “I wish I thought of that.” But, of course, it’s not as easy at this author makes it look. Thanks for the rec.
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Agree — great idea to teach little ones about time management. Wouldn’t have thought of it either. The rhymes are spot on!
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Happy Halloween everyone!👻🧙♀️
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Hope yours was spooktacular, Joanne.
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A sweet Halloween 🎃 story, with lots of details for young eyes 👀 to pick out, thanks Jama!
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Yes, very sweet and adorable. I like the touches of humor, too — like scowl practice. 🙂
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Jama, Just my kind of kooky kuteness! Love author Helen’s lyrical language & the lucious pages of Kiesten’s, illustrator delight. Appreciations & wishing you Hilarious Halloween Hijinks, from your fan,JAN
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Great premise for a picture book — the glittery gatefold list at the end is a nice touch too. 🙂
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I’m stuck on imagining the baby Phoenix!
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Unusual pet! I’m still pondering the toadstool cake . . . 😀
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I’m stuck on “doing yoga with her cat.” I was intrigued by this new book after seeing its cover online, and I love your deep-broom-dive into its fun pages! Congrats to Helen and Kiersten – adorable. HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEN! — Robyn HB
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I like how different readers pick out things that stand out for them. Yoga with one’s cat is a nice touch. One doesn’t usually associate witches of any age with yoga . . .
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Oh this looks like a marvelous book to keep in mind for the little ones, next year! I love all the parts, those “broom techniques” and her looking at her spell book! Very, very cute, Jama! Thank you!
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Yes, those broom techniques are fun to see and read about!
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Very cute story! Thank you, Jama…So creative of Zax to tell a story about organization with a happy witch!
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Agree — a clever idea since one’s never too young to learn about organization and time management. Plus, Little Witch is so endearing 🙂
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Aw, Little Witch is so sweet! What a darling book, and such a smart concept. There are only so many hours in a day and Little Witch is making the best of them. 😁
Such a perfect Halloween post, Jama! Hope your night was (and your weekend will be) chocolatey!
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Luckily the weather was great for trick-or-treaters. We have lots of chocolate left, though . . . wonder who will eat it? 😀
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Me! Me! I’ll come over and help you! 😀
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Such a fun book by Helen Zax. I can’t wait to share with my young friends.
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You’ll enjoy sharing this one — and it doesn’t have to be just for Halloween!
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Sweet! Gotta love a list-making young witch!
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Glad your comment came through finally. Sorry about the issues. You’re not the only one having problems. Will have to contact tech support again. Unfortunately the Happiness Engineers aren’t as responsive as before because I think there are fewer of them now.
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Jama, thank you for the delightful review you shared on Halloween, a perfect time. The illustrations, spreads, and poems provide a wonderful combination to make little children smile and perhaps be like the Little Witch who has a magical to-do list. I was so excited when reading your review that I added it to my Facebook page so families could bring the book into their homes. Now.
I am going to dial the posts back to find your other review, The Gift of the Broken Teacup: Poems of Mindfulness, Meditation & Me by Allan Wolf and Jade Orlando. I will also send your review to Allan who will be with me at the NCTE Convention. I am presenting with him, Georgia Heard, and Matt Forrest Esenwine.
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