Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Bella Donna #1

Bella Donna: Coven Road

Rate this book
Ever since she was a baby, Bella Donna has suspected she has magical powers, and she wants nothing more than to be a witch. Bella lives in an orphanage, waiting for her “Forever Family,” until one day she meets Lilith Sorciere and agrees to move in with Lilith and her niece Verity. Bella tries keeping her witchy tendencies a secret from her new foster family, and she stays on her best behavior—but when she comes home early one day from school, she stumbles upon something very surprising! Could Coven Road really be a road for witches?

This first installment of the sweet, spooky Bella Donna series will captivate young magic-loving readers. Bella Coven Road is an engaging and entertaining read with a subtle message to be yourself. Marion Lindsay’s adorably simple spot illustrations bring even more magic to author Ruth Symes’s delightful tale. Fall in love with Bella Donna and her road to witchdom! And be prepared for her next big adventure!

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2012

10 people are currently reading
297 people want to read

About the author

Ruth Symes

33 books7 followers
Also publishes under Ruth Louise Symes

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
79 (45%)
4 stars
62 (35%)
3 stars
28 (16%)
2 stars
2 (1%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Steffi.
3,275 reviews182 followers
April 5, 2018
Isabella lebt im Kinderheim, wartet auf ihre "für-immer-Familie" und möchte unbedingt eine Hexe sein. Daher passt sie so gar nicht zu den anderen Mädchen in ihrer Klasse, denn mit Rosa kann Bella überhaupt nichts anfangen.

Die Geschichte ist sehr niedlich erzählt und hat mit Isabella mal eine etwas andere Protagonistin. Ich fand sie war ein klasse Mädchen, dass immer für ihren besten Freund Sam da ist. Ich habe die beiden wirklich in mein Herz geschlossen.

Auch die Hexenwelt wurde sehr einfallsreich und kreativ beschrieben. Auch wenn man schon so einige Hexengeschichten kennt, war hier noch so einiges Neues dabei.

Die Illustrationen waren sehr schön gestaltet, lediglich die Menschen waren nicht ganz so nach meinem Geschmack gezeichnet.
"Bella Donner und wie alles begann" ist eine süße und unterhaltsame Hexengeschichte, die sehr neugierig auf die weiteren Teile macht.
Profile Image for Serpil  Ka.
43 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2019
Kitap çok güzel. Dili akıcı, hikaye heyecanlı. Çeviriyle ilgili eleştirilerim olacak. Bazı yerlerde “evlatlık edinmek” bazı yerlerde “evlat edinmek” to adopt yerine kullanılmış. Evlatlık kelimesini literatürden çıkaralım. Hele evlatlık almak vermek çok kötü ifadeler. Evlatlık edinmek diye bir şey hele hiç yok . Evlat edinmek ve evlat edinilmek yeterli. İkinci eleştirim.Sayfa 147 “ artık kendisiyle yaşamamı istemiyor olduğunu .....” istemiyor olmak nedir??? İstemediğini yetmiyor mu? Sayfa 152 “ artık birlikte büyü dersi yapmıyor olmamıza ....” yapmıyor olmak nedir??? Yapmamamıza yetmiyor mu? Çocukları Türkçe’yi doğru düzgün okutalım rica ediyorum.
Bu arada kitap evlat edinmeyi, aile olmayı, kendin gibi yaşamayı nasıl güzel anlatmış. Kızım da ben de serinin diğer kitaplarına geçtik.
Profile Image for Merve Şahin.
478 reviews18 followers
February 1, 2021
Açıkçası bu kitabı kitapsepeti.com hediye olarak vermemiş olsa asla okuyamazdım fakat iyi ki hediye olarak bu kitabı seçmişim çünkü aşırı keyif aldım!

Kitabımızın ana karakteri Bella Donna kendini bildi bileli cadı olmak isteyen bir yetim. Çılgın bir şekilde hayvanları seven arkadaşı Sam ile birlikte yalnızca kendilerini oldukları gibi kabul eden ailelere gideceklerine anlaşıyorlar ve bu nedenle uzun süre yetimhaneden ayrılamıyorlar. Fakat bir gün yetimhaneye spor arabasıyla bir kadın geliyor ve her şey değişiyor!

Hikayeyi detaylandırmamak adına devamını anlatmak istemedim ama bu kitabı gerçekten çok sevdim ve serisini almayı düşünüyorum. Ayrıca içerisinde çok tatlı çizimlerde var.

İlkokulda okuyan çocuklarınıza alabileceğiniz kadar basit ve akıcı bir hikaye. Dili sade ve herhangi bir kötülük içermiyor. İlk ve orta okul çağındaki çocuklarınıza almanızı tavsiye ederim. Okumayı da sevdireceğini düşünüyorum.
Profile Image for Cindy.
149 reviews13 followers
December 20, 2017
This book was so good that I want to go buy the rest of the series Right Now.
Profile Image for Donna.
1,652 reviews
July 7, 2018
Fun, quick read narrated by the title character.
Bella and her friend Sam are both looking for their "Forever" homes. They have grown up together and both have quirks that make it harder for them to be adopted. Bella wants to be a witch - she is not supposed to voice aloud to prospective parents, and Sam loves bugs and reptiles and getting muddy.
"Trying to be perfect had turned me from unpopular into popular and it was a lot easier being popular. I liked people liking me. I liked wearing pink."
Good beginning to what might be a fun middle grade series.
Profile Image for Deacon Yeager.
75 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2016
In this book Bella Donna gets adopted. My favorite part is when she stops trying to be a normal girl and lets herself be a witch.
Profile Image for Stephan.
463 reviews13 followers
February 17, 2020
Bella Donna är en underlig liten flicka. Lämnad som bebis vid ett barnhem, med bara en mobil (inte en telefon!) som sällskap. Här växer hon upp och även om vännerna är få så är de desto trognare. Hon drömmer om att en dag bli en riktig häxa, något hon definitivt låter omvärlden förstå också. Det kommer en hel del familjer till barnhemmet på jakt efter en dotter, men Bella gör sitt för att se till att den familj som hon hamnar hos verkligen ska acceptera henne för den hon är, annars kan det vara. Men slutligen kommer så Lilith. Och Lilith är perfekt! Bella blir adopterad på prov för att de båda ska se om de passar för varandra. Och för att Lilith verkligen ska vilja adoptera Bella så slutar hon vara... Bella. Bort med de svarta kläderna och inget mer prat om att vilja bli häxa. Men är det verkligen Bella? Och är det verkligen en sådan flicka som Lilith vill adoptera? Hur länge kan egentligen Bella dölja sina drömmar för Lilith, och kan det vara så att även lilith döljer något stort?

En lite underligt uppbyggd bok. När man kommit halvvägs igenom boken så känns den bra och kan avslutas med ett trevligt och fint slut. Men istället fortsätter den och lägger till nya vändningar som, även om de inte känns olämpliga som så, kanske hellre skulle passat i en uppföljare. Och när slutet väl kommer på riktigt så har de nya trådar som lagts till inte helt avslutats... Lite underligt, men fortfarande en trevlig berättelse om att våga stå upp för, och acceptera, vem man är.
Profile Image for Danielle Gibbs.
79 reviews
April 4, 2023
My 7 year old really took to this reading the first two chapter on the first sitting. We read at bedtime so she tends to just do a chapter a night. She was itching to keep reading with this book. And she is very excited to get stuck into the next book in the series.

From my pov it had an engaging storyline, with a nice twist at the end. The pictures break up the text a bit which is helpful for kids who aren't quite ready for page after page of text. The vocabulary was fairly simple, only about 3 words in the book that my daughter had to take a few tries out. Might be slightly below her reading level but was an enjoyable and relaxing read for her.

All in all a nice series, we always like witchy stuff in my house, especially with a female lead. I've already got her the next few in the series. The only downside for me is that it appears to be very much a white abled bodied cast. Not a minority in sight, but given the age of the story (First published 2010) maybe it is to be expected. We balance it out with more diverse books at other times.
Profile Image for Alice E P.
7 reviews
June 19, 2024
This was a very surprising book about a little girl called Bella who wanted to be a witch and she figured out that she was a witch!

My favourite part of the book was when Bella Donna wasn't banished even though she broke all of the rules!

My least favourite character is Verity because she put a spell on Sam which was very naughty.

I liked the ending because she figured out that someone else made her break the rules so it wasn't her fault!

This book is for people who like surprises and magical adventures.
Profile Image for Emily.
532 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2019
Cute story

This book had a cute story, and Bella Donna is a great main character. The story isn’t too long, and wraps up nicely! Can’t wait to see what else Bella Donna will get up to.
16 reviews
May 25, 2021
1. ve 2. sınıftayken en sevdiğim seriydi, neredeyse tek solukta bitirdim.

Daha fazlası için Instagram:
@kids.book.review
Profile Image for Tim Robinson.
1,096 reviews55 followers
July 24, 2024
It's such a relief these days to find an author who gets to the point and sticks to the story. On the other hand, I am always nonplussed to find a happy ending half way through a book.
Profile Image for Samantha and Lillian Miller.
2 reviews
July 15, 2014
My thoughts.......

I would give this book 5 stars because the main character, Bella Donna, and I share the same best day of the week, Friday! It's also fantastic because there is a series with 5 books in it ,so if you like it you can read the next book but or course you don't have to read the next book if you don't want to.

Coven Road follows the story of a little girls life, Bella Donna. Bella Donna was a normal child who lived in an orphanage and who wanted to be a witch. Bella Donna was adopted by Lilith who, it turns out, is actually a witch! Bella Donna doesn't know that Lilith is a witch to begin with until one day when Bella Donna comes home early because of a storm she discovers Lilith's secret. Bella Donna was amazed, she was lost for words when she saw the things Lilith could do. Now she wanted to be a with even more.

With Lilith's help Bella Donna learns how to become a witch and finds out about the secret lives of witches. Eventually, after lots of hard work, Bella Donna is ready to be a real witch and there is a ceremony declaring her a 'Witchling'.

I would love to be Bella in this book. Her life sounds wonderful and mysterious. The moral of this story is that if you really want to be something you can if you try hard enough.

I would recommend this book to girls aged 7-10 who enjoy fantasy. The book is 180 pages long but you should read it slowly so that you don't miss any important bits.
426 reviews8 followers
July 26, 2014
I gave the audio book of the first four Bella Donna books to my daughter (aged nearly six) to listen to on a road trip. She became so entranced that she was completely antisocial all weekend and remained plugged in to her headphones at every opportunity. She rates it, "The best audio book ever!" She then insisted that everyone else listened to it too. Her sister (nearly nine) rated it as, "Surprisingly good and not just a little kid book. It reminds me of Harry Potter." I had to read it next. All the books in the series are short, insubstantial and not recommended for adult readers but a great read for younger children and even reluctant readers in the older primary age group, as the protagonist is 10-11.
Profile Image for Theresa.
1,554 reviews44 followers
December 15, 2016
This story reminds me a lot of Meet The Robinsons. Two little friends trying their best to find their forever family. Both children have things that make them very special and they need just the right fit.
Bella Donna wants to be a witch. Sam needs a family that loves mud and frogs.

In this story Bella Donna finds a home first. She is afraid to be herself though, and tries her best to fit in and act like everyone else.She soon finds out that her new mom is just like her.

Mwanwhile Sam thinks he has found his forever family, and then something goes very wrong. Then a lot like Meet The Robinsons, everything gets much worse.

It doesn't take a time machine to fix things, but a special kind of magic to set things straight.

I'd really like to read more books in this series.
Profile Image for Swanni.
47 reviews
November 10, 2015
Ich brauchte mal was zum abschalten. Bella Donner ist eine nette Geschichte. Einzig der Name der Katze "Pegatha" hat mich immer an das Wort "Pegida" erinnert. Mann dieses Wort verpestet mein Gehirn.
4 reviews
Want to read
February 11, 2019
I haven't read the book yet because my friend is but she has almost finished it so I can't wait until I reed it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.