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Moko Magic #2
Museum Mayhem
Twelve-year-old Misty and her two cousins, Aidan and Brooke, are mokos—protector spirits—who recently combined their magic to save Brooklyn’s carnival celebration. Now they’re excited about Uncle Andrew’s upcoming art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. He has chosen to create a piece centered around a Benin Bronze, one of several artworks that were looted from Nigeria in 1897, and the cousins are treated to a private tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to help him choose it.
When Misty views the bronzes for the first time, she is transported into a long-ago memory of an oba (king) who was stern and angry. And that’s just the beginning of the trouble. Once the selected bronze is delivered from the Met, the Brooklyn Museum is overrun with dust bunnies that attack people. A mysterious force controlling the dust begins to pull innocent victims into artworks and trap them inside. The cousins are going to need a lot of help—BIG help—to defeat this fearsome foe.
When Misty views the bronzes for the first time, she is transported into a long-ago memory of an oba (king) who was stern and angry. And that’s just the beginning of the trouble. Once the selected bronze is delivered from the Met, the Brooklyn Museum is overrun with dust bunnies that attack people. A mysterious force controlling the dust begins to pull innocent victims into artworks and trap them inside. The cousins are going to need a lot of help—BIG help—to defeat this fearsome foe.
Unknown Binding
Published September 2, 2025
About the author
Tracey Baptiste
55 books566 followersFrom Thompson-Gale: "Something About the Author"
I have always loved books. My favorite, was an oversized complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with beautiful illustrations, which I lost when my family moved to the United States. I was fascinated by the stories of the tailor who went up against a giant, and clever Hans, who wasn't so clever as well as the more traditional princess stories. When I was about thirteen, after spending a summer in the library reading Paul Zindel and Judy Blume among other authors, I announced to my best friend that I was going to be a writer. I didn't decide what I wanted to write until I read "The Friends" by Rosa Guy. I had recently moved to Brooklyn, NY, and the book spoke to my situation precisely. It remains one of my favorite books. I started writing for children then, and never stopped. I had early interest from publishers from the moment I began submitting stories at the age of 21, but I didn't put in the work necessary to become published until my late twenties. "Angel's Grace" was largely written while I was on maternity leave with my first child. It was inspired by my mother (the redhead) and my husband. Because I have very young children, I work when they sleep, which, sadly, is very little.
I have always loved books. My favorite, was an oversized complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with beautiful illustrations, which I lost when my family moved to the United States. I was fascinated by the stories of the tailor who went up against a giant, and clever Hans, who wasn't so clever as well as the more traditional princess stories. When I was about thirteen, after spending a summer in the library reading Paul Zindel and Judy Blume among other authors, I announced to my best friend that I was going to be a writer. I didn't decide what I wanted to write until I read "The Friends" by Rosa Guy. I had recently moved to Brooklyn, NY, and the book spoke to my situation precisely. It remains one of my favorite books. I started writing for children then, and never stopped. I had early interest from publishers from the moment I began submitting stories at the age of 21, but I didn't put in the work necessary to become published until my late twenties. "Angel's Grace" was largely written while I was on maternity leave with my first child. It was inspired by my mother (the redhead) and my husband. Because I have very young children, I work when they sleep, which, sadly, is very little.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 19, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Misty is trying her hand at aziza cooking with Aunty Kamala and makes anchar that is tasty but doesn't have the magic required. Instead of causing the person who eats it to breath fire, it causes a horrible black smoke, which damages uncle Stanley's Caribbean Bites restaurant. A little bit of the smoke attaches itself to Misty's shoe, which causes some big problems. Aiden's dad Andrew has an art commission, and is planning on reimagining a Benin bronze. There's a lot of talk about how artwork is in museums of colonizers rather than the native populations, and how hard it can be to get pieces restored. While going to the museum to see the piece that Andrew will borrow, Brooke sees a boy protesting this. After the three moko cousins visit the museum, a janitor disappears, and a piece of art is damaged, although no one can figure out how. Mr. Rawson, the creepy art transporter show up, and dust monsters named djabs also start popping up and causing problems. More and more people go missing, and more art is damaged. Can the cousins harness their moko magic to stop the djabs from causing problems?
Strengths: The idea that even though Misty isn't an aziza, but can still learn to do magic, is very fun. The fact that it also involves cooking amazing food makes it even better. There are a lot of good cultural connections, with Misty's father being held up in Trinidad because of visa problems, ties to Nigeria with the Benin bronzes, and the close knit Brooklyn neighborhood where the J'Ouvert and West Indian American Day Carnival is held. There are a variety of interesting magical creatures, including Khody, a khodumodumo who has taken on the guise of a human. There are other small details that underscore the cousins struggles with their identities; Brooke is trying to decide which high school to apply to. The discussion of what should happen to art that has been misappropriated is one that will give readers food for thought.
Weaknesses: This had chapter headings that changed between each of the cousins even though this is written in third person omniscent point of view. This is also a bit long, coming in at 384 pages.
What I really think: This sequel to Carnival Chaos will be popular with fans who like fantasy books with cultural connections like Okogwu's Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun or Okorafor's Ikenga.
Misty is trying her hand at aziza cooking with Aunty Kamala and makes anchar that is tasty but doesn't have the magic required. Instead of causing the person who eats it to breath fire, it causes a horrible black smoke, which damages uncle Stanley's Caribbean Bites restaurant. A little bit of the smoke attaches itself to Misty's shoe, which causes some big problems. Aiden's dad Andrew has an art commission, and is planning on reimagining a Benin bronze. There's a lot of talk about how artwork is in museums of colonizers rather than the native populations, and how hard it can be to get pieces restored. While going to the museum to see the piece that Andrew will borrow, Brooke sees a boy protesting this. After the three moko cousins visit the museum, a janitor disappears, and a piece of art is damaged, although no one can figure out how. Mr. Rawson, the creepy art transporter show up, and dust monsters named djabs also start popping up and causing problems. More and more people go missing, and more art is damaged. Can the cousins harness their moko magic to stop the djabs from causing problems?
Strengths: The idea that even though Misty isn't an aziza, but can still learn to do magic, is very fun. The fact that it also involves cooking amazing food makes it even better. There are a lot of good cultural connections, with Misty's father being held up in Trinidad because of visa problems, ties to Nigeria with the Benin bronzes, and the close knit Brooklyn neighborhood where the J'Ouvert and West Indian American Day Carnival is held. There are a variety of interesting magical creatures, including Khody, a khodumodumo who has taken on the guise of a human. There are other small details that underscore the cousins struggles with their identities; Brooke is trying to decide which high school to apply to. The discussion of what should happen to art that has been misappropriated is one that will give readers food for thought.
Weaknesses: This had chapter headings that changed between each of the cousins even though this is written in third person omniscent point of view. This is also a bit long, coming in at 384 pages.
What I really think: This sequel to Carnival Chaos will be popular with fans who like fantasy books with cultural connections like Okogwu's Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun or Okorafor's Ikenga.
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