There's a Witch in Your Book: An Interactive Book For Kids and Toddlers

Who's in Your Book?

by Tom Fletcher

Just in time for Halloween, an adorable little witch has landed in YOUR book—now in board! An engaging new adventure from the team that brought you There's a Monster in Your Book and its companions.

A grumpy little witch has thrown a magic spell at you! If you can capture it, you can use your finger wand to make magic yourself in this participatory book. But, be careful! Your bewitched finger wand might be more powerful than you think! This book shows how tidying up can be fun!

Look for every book in Tom Fletcher and Greg Abbott's Who's In Your Book? series for more read-aloud fun! INTERACTIVE ADVENTURES FOR BIG

There's a Monster in Your Book
There's a Dragon in Your Book
There's an Elf in Your Book
There's an Alien in Your Book
There's a Superhero in Your Book
There's a Unicorn in Your Book

Tom Fletcher is one of Britain's bestselling children's authors (in addition to being a rock star!) , and his YouTube videos have been viewed tens of millions of times.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens, Storytime, Holiday, Witches, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tom Fletcher is one of the UK's most popular children's authors. Tom's books have been translated into 41 languages and to date he has sold over 6 million copies of his books in the UK alone, and 10 million globally.

The Christmasaurus was the biggest debut children's novel of 2016 and was shortlisted for a British Book Award. Since then, Tom has published several more chart-topping children's novels, including The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List, The Creakers and the instant number-one bestseller The Danger Gang.

For younger readers, Tom writes the incredibly successful Who's in Your Book? picture-book series and is one half of the author duo behind the Dinosaur that Pooped picture-book series with bandmate Dougie Poynter.

For older readers, Tom co-authors the Eve of Man series with his wife, Giovanna Fletcher.

As well as his career as an author, Tom is also a founding member of the Brit Award-winning band McFly, which has sold over 10 million records worldwide.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wickedly fun interactive picture book for little ones to enjoy over the Halloween period.

The reader is encouraged to use their finger as a wand to teach the cheeky slime loving witch a lesson.

The illustrations are charming and the spells keep changing, we particularly enjoyed the cut out sections near the back of the book.

It's such a cool way to engage and excite youngsters imaginations.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Fletcher and Greg Abbott, the British author/illustrator team who previously collaborated on five interactive picture-books featuring little spooks, return in this sixth title, this time profiling a mischievous little witch. The reader is given instructions by the narrator, defending themselves against the witch's spell, turning the witch herself into a cat, and then attempting to "clean up" the book, with mixed results. In the end, the reader needs the witch's help to set everything to rights...

Despite the fact that There's a Witch in Your Book is the sixth title in this series, and follows the same formula as its predecessors, it does not feel reductive or repetitious, and is in fact great fun. The instructions are easy to follow, and will keep young listeners engaged and entertained, and the bright, colorful artwork complements the humor of the story admirably. Recommended for story hour with younger children, as well as for reading one on one, especially with children who (like me) have a taste for witchy fare.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun interactive story. Shame this series of books weren't out when my son was a toddler as he would have loved them.

[Pine Reads Review]

“What a cheeky witch! Let’s teach her a lesson and turn her into something instead!”

A witch has landed in your book, and she needs your help to get out of the mess she’s made! This picture book invites readers to interact with a mischievous little witch who has crash landed into your book and has caused quite a mess. Through second person narration, it allows for children to directly participate in the magic with the red-haired trouble maker. There are instructions throughout the book to have the children cast spells on the witch and use their hands to interact with her. With lots of action throughout the book, readers are engaged in the trouble and mess-making.

The colors and designs of the book go hand in hand with the spunky attitude of the witch. The pages include simple designs with oranges, purples, and reds that keep the reader excited and ready for the witch’s magic. One of the most creative aspects of the illustrations are the holes in the pages where the witch crash landed.

Although the reader participation is fun and classic, the book’s story felt flat in terms of depth. The witch didn’t learn a lesson about her actions, and she didn’t have an arc of growth in the book. It is a formulaic narrative that will engage young readers, but it doesn’t offer anything new for them to explore or learn. Although it is a fun and spooky read, it fell short in terms of story and character.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

This latest installment of the Who’s In Your Book? picture book series is a very creative and fun read! It is an interactive story where the reader uses their “magic finger wand” and recites cleverly rhyming “spells” in order to try different ways of getting a witch character out of their book. However, the spells often go wrong in silly, unexpected ways! This is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit!

~ Miss Emily

[Becs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t seen a children’s board book like this before, which encourages little readers to interact directly with the story, but turns out Tom Fletcher has written a few we’ll be adding to our shelves because we loved this spooky season witchy story and all the pretend potions and spells we got to do!

Fun, colourful illustrations which leap off the page but, perhaps most importantly in such a heavily saturated market, a novel idea with incredible interactive potential.

It’s a yes from me!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely an easy one to use in storytime--this series really gets the "interactive" element right without it sounding contrived. This would work for Halloween or for a "magician" topic too. It will check out in all of five seconds during October!

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this story it has you participate throughout the story as well which made it fun for the whole family

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meta book that asks the reader to act out "spells" to help the narrator and a witch. Tries too hard to be cutesy.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK is a delightful, interactive picture book that pulls children into the story. The book begins with a witch in your book, who is making a mess. The book instructs children to wipe it off with their hand and turn the page, where it is clean - but the witch is upset about you cleaning it up and about to turn the reader into a toad. The reader is told to quickly hold up their hand to block the spell. They then get to cast a series of spells with their finger wands as the story continues to evolve (and also tells them to tidy up their rooms). This is a silly and fun read for children who love activities and interactive books.

What I loved: This is an imaginative and interactive story that will appeal to preschoolers and young elementary school readers. Each page has an activity that children can do as a part of the serial actions across the story, leading to all sorts of goofiness and hilarity. The finger wands with rhyming spells are particularly delightful and clever across the story, bringing in the witch theme. The book also includes a cut-out on a few pages that fits into the story well, and adds some additional interest. Simple but colorful illustrations bring the story to life and keep children engaged from start to finish. This will be particularly delightful for fans of interactive reads like THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK and DON'T PUSH THE BUTTON!

What left me wanting more: As a very small thing, some of the text is difficult to read in low light, as it is black on top of relatively darker colors. The large size and clear font does help with this though.

Final verdict: A delightful and engaging picture book, THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK is an interactive read that is sure to enchant young readers.

[SKP · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series came out at the tail-end of my 35-year career as a children’s librarian. By the time I discovered them, we were into the pandemic and doing Facebook Live storytimes only—no in-person ones. We used the dragon and the monster ones in our Facebook Live storytimes, which meant no instant feedback from children, but we did get a lot of positive feedback in the threads under the posted videos. I retired before the in-person storytimes resumed, so I unfortunately never got to use any of these directly with children. For that I am sorry.

When they wrote so many of this type of book, I wondered how they could keep each one original and unique, but they obviously were successful. I loved the bunny bubbles, and I know kids would too!

As much as these would work in storytimes, I would think they’d work even better as a one-on-one book between caregivers/parents and children. Highly recommended!

[Fi's Journey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter got the book There's a Dragon in Your Book for Christmas from her aunt and ever since we read it she wanted some of the other books from this series. She tends to look at the back cover and point, which book she would like next to have haha.

So I brought this one and There's a Monster in Your Book to read next... and this book was just as good as the first one we read together.

I enjoyed reading this one to my daughter. It was good to see how the storyline changes from being a messy witch to being a helpful witch!

[Shaye Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this interactive book, we meet a witch and a narrator who requires the reader poke, wipe, and swoosh messes made during the story. At the very end, we’re told to have a fun sleepover – so might be a fun way to start off a night of fun.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!!

[Sirah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a witch in this book, and she's making a big mess. It's up to the reader to repeat the rhymes and stop this witch from turning the whole story into a disaster. But spells go wrong pretty easily, so be careful!

This book has a fun concept, and the artwork is playful. I was expecting a little more of a story and a bit less of the interactive element, but I'd still recommend this book to young readers who enjoy silly rhymes and (expected) unexpected consequences.

[Erika Snider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so interactive with the audience. Blocking spells and turning the witch into a cat are so creative. I think this would be a fun book to read during Halloween and put on the front shelf during October. This would be a great book to read to your child or to engage new independent readers.

[Kristin Delligatti · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a darling book! My toddler absolutely loved the interactive pages. She just turned two and stayed engaged through the entire story. The clever hole in the book and the gentle reminder to tidy up the bedroom made it extra special! I’m recommending this one to my daughter’s cousin—she loves magic and reading just as much as we do!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Halloween story time! We love the Who's In Your Book series (and this tied into the unintentional cat theme I had going thanks to Meowloween). This was the last book, so my crew was getting just a tiny bit restless - I usually like to do an interactive book first or second and save the really simple story for the end. But at least a few of them followed along with their finger wands!

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was adorable!! I'll be checking it out again once my Little is big enough to do all the actions ^_^ A very cute interactive book that was a bit reminiscent of "There is a Monster at the End of this Book"

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO MUCH fun! It’s so interactive, having the reader use their finger wands to cast spells to tidy up the book and so on. Very creative! And the illustrations are incredible!! A wonderful Halloween read!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

What shall the reader do to combat the witch in this book. As they try their best, but no amount of magic spells used by a novice spellbinder will clean up the mess made. A silly story with lots of hocus pocus mishaps!

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun interactive book that lasts an indulgent amount of time. I didn't really like the phrasing of "teaching a cheeky witch a lesson," but other than that, this is an enjoyable Halloween (or any season) read.

[Kerry Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like this book because the bubble bunnie's were full of slime.i like that it does lots of spells.i like that
the witch's hair is orange.this book is fun to read.
it made me feel happy and good.i like that i turned the witch into a green little cat with a stripy hat.

[Michelle Halber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute -- allows the children to change the character in the story!

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interactive children's book. There's a witch in your book. Use your finger as a magic wand to fix the problem.

(Why is the witch a problem? I don't know.)

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books for story time.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book with interactive spells kids can cast!

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interactive story for kids to follow along while you read!

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the There’s A Book series.

[Jessica Hagy]

Got this and read it to my little nephew and I think me and his mom enjoyed it more than he did!