Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars

by April Suddendorf

Warts, evil spells, and toads for pets? The modern-day witches in this book aren’t scary or frightening, but rather hip! Meet these diverse witches from around the world and their animal companions in this quirky picture book from debut author-illustrator April Suddendorf!

Every witch needs a pet by her side. But if you’re picturing black cats or toads, think again. Because in Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars the animal companions are just as original and likable as their witches: a little monkey helps his pink-haired witch cut her locks, while a parrot helps his tarot card-reading witch answer the phone.

In her picture book debut, German author–illustrator April Suddendorf plays with a cliché: witches are not evil, old, or scary, but modern, versatile women from all over the world. Joyful magic unfolds through clever rhymes as each witch, and her animal friend, is introduced. Readers, discover what kind of witch you want to be!

Which witch will be your favorite? For readers who love Room on the Broom and Witch & Wombat!

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Poetry, Childrens, Fantasy, Witches, Middle Grade

48 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2024

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t let the title confuse you: This beautifully illustrated picture book actually deals with various animals, domestic and exotic, with witches figuring hardly at all (although they’re cute, rather than scary, when they do appear, and a most diverse group). Dutch author and illustrator April Suddendorf’s clever rhymes rise to the level of the charming pictures. Highly, highly recommended for young and old! And here’s to hoping Suddendorf’s debut picture book won’t be her last.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and NorthSouth Books in exchange for an honest review. And, if you don’t know, a “familiar” is a witch’s animal helper.

[Tempest Reign · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my children.

We really enjoyed this book. It is definately geared for slightly older children — my 8 year old loved it, but my 5 year old only liked it.

The rhyming phrase was good, if sometimes a little odd. But getting to meet all of the witches and their animals was lovely.

The illustrations were fabulous. While not overly bright, there was a lot to look at on most pages, which was a fun addition.

Recommend for slightly older children.

☆I received an ARC of this book from the author amd NetGalley. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.☆

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide range - the widest! - of witches and their familiars. Witches of colour, witches with tattoos, witches who happen to use wheelchairs, or live under water. Stunning endpapers, glorious illustrations, clever rhymes. Would have been one of my favourites as a toddler. So many animals, and all of them friends!

Apparently the author is Dutch and lives in Germany so I'll make sure to check if I can find the German language version somewhere.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

[Julia✨Book Reviews by Jules✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

i thought this book was very charming. This book will be good to read to children that think witches are scary. It can teach them that witches can also be nice. I think this book will be a hit come fall and Halloween season. I thought the illustrations were very well drawn.
–

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[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the advance copy of “Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars” by April Suddendorf. This was a charming picture book with rhyming verse. The pictures were detailed and imaginative, and I’m sure will entertain any child and/or parent reading. The different witches and creatures were diverse and amusing, I’d recommend this book to children who enjoy fantasy and animal stories.

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The diversity of witches and familiars is a pleasure, each spread chock full of whimsical detail, a vignette into a vibrant life. But it barely coheres as a book, and the rhyming text, translated by the author, strains and struggles. Charming but frustrating.

[Radwa]

This was cute. different animals with rhymes and their witchy companions.
the art was adorable.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much! First so many adorable animals and some of them are not what you traditionally find in children's books. But what I love more than anything is how diverse the witches are. I can't wait for this book to be ready to purchase. I will absolutely be adding it to my personal collection of picture books.

5 stars

[CYIReadBooks (Claire) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars is a cute rhyming picture book. I liked the illustrations, but the colors to me were a little drab. It could use more eye popping colors in my opinion.

As for the characters, there were a number of familiar animals mentioned. But one in particular threw me — a pangolin. Pretty exotic for a children’s picture book. I think that sticking with the tried and true and familiar animals would have been more acceptable, but that’s just me.

Overall, however, Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars is more than suitable for preschoolers as a storytime book. Three stars.

I was invited to read a DRC from NorthSouth Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my 100th honest review! Thank you for giving me a sense of purpose, bringing me joy and allowing me access to the most amazing books for the past 6 months!!

You never know when you’re going to read a new favorite. I immediately preordered this one after I fiinished reading it. You can tell that a lot of thought and work has been put into this beautiful, fun, diverse, inclusive, creative, quirky, heartwarming and original read!

It’s so hard to review a book that you absolutely loved! I just wanna tell everyone that this was so good and they have to read it!!! But that wouldn’t be a very interesting review.

This little book is about all kinds of different witches, with different needs and interests so of course they don’t all have the same pets. This book shows us in the most fun way (with great rhymes and very detailed illustrations you are going to want to look at for a long time), why every witch in this book has a certain pet and it doesn’t shy away from showing us witches with disabilities too and that each pet has his pros and cons but it stays really positive and heartwarming doing so.

If you like animals, magic and fun, you are going to love this amazing uplifting little book!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely different collection of novelty verse, but not a classic. It being translated into English by the author doesn't guarantee a hit after hit success, and we don't get that here, with verses about the more unusual animal choices some witches make when it comes to familiars. If anything the quirk of the visuals is preferable to that in the text – the witch that lives with a snake really lives with it, for it almost covers every inch of the page; we see that a squirrel held at the right angle makes for a fine duster to clean the dust off our skeletons.

I think it's more of an advert for being an unusual female, hence the loner kind, the mermaid kind, the overrun-by-mice kind. The witches here are diverse with diverse needs, but they have all found their ideal life and their ideal familiar companion, so don't lose heart in that regard is the lesson here. And for once, unusually for me, I think I prefer this to have a lesson, as without it it's not that great. It's still no classic, but having a point to the novelty is something to earn it three and a half stars.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can see all my reviews here: Books Are The New Black

My son saw this and begged me to read this to him! Luckily, it was a read now. It was perfect because we are doing a lot of rhyming at the moment.

This has many poems with rhymes about all the different witches and their peculiars. There are many different types of animal companions, and all have special skills to help. I loved the illustrations and all the details that went into it. There is a lot of diversity, and many different types of witches too.

There is a lot going on with the pictures, and my son kind of zoned out of listening to me. I get it because there was a lot to see! This is the type of book that you need to read slowly and take your time with. There is nothing wrong with that it’s just a more detailed picture book.

Ollie and I really enjoyed this one! He was so excited about all the rhyming words because there are many that he had never heard of. This was a cute set of poems, and I adored the diversity!

Many thanks to NorthSouth Books and Negalley for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustrated book of verse, this book cheekily examines the witch and all of her familiars from parrots to giraffes, tortoises to mice, and not a cat in sight! Suddendorf illustrates and writes the quick coupleted poems in a cute comic art style.

I don’t think this book could be more adorable! Kids are going to flip for it - it’s cute look at all the random pets who spend their days helping witches in their duties. The poems are short and rhymed and really very sweet, sometimes funny. Witches of all sizes, shapes, and abilities are represented, and all of the animals are unique. The artwork is colorful, clean, and a little retro - it reminds me of books I loved as a child. I think this book would not only do well during Halloween, April for National Poetry Month, but anytime to celebrate a book of women and adorable animals! I am running out to buy it as soon as it’s available!


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC.

[petalpineink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m obsessed.

Do I have a child of my own yet? No. Did I add this to my shopping cart for preorder so I have it when I one day do? YES. As a witchy woman myself, I’ll be reading this for fun until I can share it with a little one.

Reading this book was a grand old time! Between the diversity of characters, names, animal species, living styles, etc. this book really took you on an adventure! I loved the illustrations as well. Everything about this book lends well to a fun read for kids AND adults. I also loved the inclusion of more advanced language. Due to the vocabulary, I would recommend this for school age kiddos, but it also uses less common words, which can lead to a great opportunity to expand vocabulary.

Gosh I loved this book.

Thanks NetGalley and NorthSouth Books Inc. for the ARC of this book.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great title from this publisher. I’ll have to check out their selections more often. I wonder if they have a reviewer list because these would be so fun to read in print with my daughter.

This is once again a really cute book with great illustrations and a fun story. This one tells us all about the different animals a witch might choose as their companion, from sheep and giraffes to squirrels and worms. The rhymes were fun, though sometimes the rhythm felt a little off, which could’ve been because it was a translation from German, which makes me want to check out the German version as well since I love to read in that language with my daughter. The illustrations were fun because they showed a great variety of witches and there was a lot of fun stuff to point out and find with my daughter.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NorthSouth Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This was so unique and I really liked it, each witch looked so different, lived so differently, made their potions differently so it was wonderful seeing which animal suited them the most. As you turn the page you never expect the next animal you are going to see with the witch.

There are so many things to look at on each and every page, it makes it such a wonderfully interactive book that children are going to honestly adore, with each witch being different no two images are the same at all. It’s very diverse and very creative, the writing is beautifully done and flows really nicely.

I do recommend this one, I think children will find it very funny, its very wacky and different,the animals are all so unexpected, there is so much to see on each page and it’s very fun and easy to read.

[Athala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review, thank you!

Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars is a nice collection of little rhymes and poems about witches and their pets. The texts are funny and educational. They show children how witches with some disabilities can also be unique and their familiars help them in any case. I love the idea of some extraordinary pets (worms, a cooking bear and a crab). I tried to read and view it as a child, so I smiled and giggled a lot :)
My only problem was that sometimes I could feel the struggle with the translation of rhymes...
The illustrations are very nice and the reader/child should spend time to explore the pictures and their details because they are really funny and rich!

[Aleira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars is such a fun book! The witches are a very diverse group including tattoos, an amputee mermaid, a wheelchair user, witches of color, and more. I loved how they all had different hobbies and live in different areas. The rhymes were cute and the illustrations are so charming!

I really liked how many different animals were featured. As a child, I would have loved to learn a little about different critters in a book like this. From dogs to giraffes to snakes and pangolins, there are so many wonderful animals to learn about. I can absolutely see this creating a further interest in learning about these animals (familiars).


Thank you to Netgalley and NorthSouth Books Inc. for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[SeasonsOfKidLit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blurb: Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars, by April Suddendorf and NorthSouth Books, features a group of modern-day witches and their chosen pets. From pigs to snakes and yaks to mice, you’ll find that witches choose some of the most unique and loveable sidekicks!

#SeasonsOfKidLit says: Suddendorf’s clever rhyming paired with her modern illustrations and depictions of witches is a true treat! Follow along as each spread features a new witch with a new animal pet. Wacky Witches is sure to warm your heart, make you laugh, and even have you envisioning which pet you’ll choose as a companion. We especially love how witches with disabilities are featured and have found the perfect pet for them. Wacky Witches is a wonderfully-wicked read for any season!

[suvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

You had me at Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars only made it better! This is a fun picture book about witches and their animals. I really enjoyed the wide range of animals included but even more I enjoyed how diverse the witches were!

It's filled with fun rhymes, and I found myself smiling through the whole book. I loved the illustrations, they were not only very whimsical and beautiful but also really detailed. I know I would have loved flipping through this as a child and I am sure many young readers will enjoy this greatly!


Thank you NetGalley and NorthSouth Books for the advanced copy!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I saw this book I knew I needed to request it for my daughter! She’s a bit of a spooky girl lol. She loves all the spooky things! And she loves animals so two birds with one stone. We did find this to be a super cute read. We enjoyed zooming and looking at all of the witches because they were all different and unique and also learning about all of their familiars. Some of the animals we aren’t as familiar with. The only con my daughter said was it was a bit too long in her opinion, but in the books defence she does not have a very long attention span lol.
Thank you to Netgalley and NorthSouth Books for the complimentary copy of this book to read.

[Tyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was adorable and I loved it, it was a book all about witches and their more unusual familiars, the rhyming of it made it feel more like a poem or song and that paired with the fun pictures made me fly through this book, as well as this the cast of characters was diverse, with characters of different races and even one in a wheelchair, these felt like they were naturally slotted in rather than put in for the sake of diversity and I think that this is a wonderful way to include diversity to young children

I highly recommend this book

I was sent this e-Arc on Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Kelly Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars by author and illustrator April Suddendorf is a delightful picture book featuring diverse characters and the animals that they love.
The poems on each page are fun to read, telling a quick story about a certain witch and her less common familiar. The illustrations are lovely and highlight the connection between each witch and her animal companion.
The book is a fun way to learn about animals that sometimes don't get the attention they deserve. And the diverse group of witches are loving to their animals, giving the young reader nothing to fear.
I was pleased to receive an ARC of #WackyWitchesandTheirPeculiarFamiliars from #NetGalley.

[Madeline McCrae · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review from Netgalley: This was a fun rhyming book about witches and their familiars. I enjoyed the wide assortment of animals and the diversity included with the witches. The color palette definitely gave more Halloween vibes than an any time of the year book about witches. While I liked the rhymes, some of them were clunky or didn’t match the images very well. It felt that some of the word choice was chosen just to rhyme rather than for the plot. I think the dig at cats towards the end was unnecessary and alienating for readers. I’m a dog person, but I think it would’ve been fun to have a “peculiar” spin on a cat familiar. Overall, an enjoyable book.

[Iasmyn Bela · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a heart-warming, cozy read. The presentation of each little witch and her respective familar is on rhymes and each verse is light and fun, which makes the reader not want to stop reading (and in the end regret having read it so quickly).
Its is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that speak directly to what was written. Personally, I really enjoyed seeing the design of each little witch being so different, not only in their physical appearance, but also in their styles, hobbies and lifestyle.
I really enjoyed reading it now, I know my younger self would have enjoyed it too and I believe an older version of me will read it out loud to someone.

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure, we hear about witches having cats as familiars, but there are a lot more choices than that. Depending on your lifestyle and what you need, you can choose one of these other animals. This fantastic little picture book takes you on a journey where you meet different witches who have made unusual choices, to say the least. One witch chooses a mouse because she doesn't have much room in her house and one witch chooses == a yak? You will have fun reading these rhymes and looking at these cute pictures with your kids. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

[Andreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this picture book! It's all about witches and their familiar, some of the weirdest and wackiest familiars, not your usual cat or owl or toad. (Although unlike the author I loved cats as familiars.)

The illustration style reminds me of Lumberjanes, so naturally I adore it!

The rhymes were fun, the cute little details made me giggle, and overall it was a blimey good time to read this picture book!

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cozy, whimsical, and entertaining illustrated rhyming book for those who love wonderful artwork of witches, also a very sweet picture book that explores different animals as possible pets (familiars) and their peculoar ways to help their witches companion. I loved all of them and how detailed the illistrarioms were. Made me feel I went on a journey around the world.
What familiar would my be? Hm... a koala or a whale? If I lived in a lighthouse, I would want a whale friend.
Thank you, publisher and netgalley, for this e-arc.

[Ashley Dang · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutest little witchy book. This book is absolutely adorable!! It features so many different types of witches of with their familiars and the diversity is perfection. I love the artwork featured in this book so much and I would absolutely recommend this book for young readers!

*Thanks Netgalley and NorthSouth Books Inc., NorthSouth Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Sue Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mark of a good children's book is illustrations, and these illustrations are delightful. The subject of the witches and the familiars is so sweet, especially with upcoming Halloween. This reminds me a bit of Room on the Broom. The rhymes are a little bit off, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment.
Thank you to NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.