Rise of the Green Flame: A Branches Book

Kwame's Magic Quest #1

by Bernard Mensah, Natasha Nayo (Illustrator)

Magic, adventure, and friendship come together in Kwame's Magic Quest, an action-packed, fully illustrated early chapter book series perfect for fans of Dragon Masters! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! The day has finally come for eight-year-old Kwame to start Nkonyaa School and learn magic! Kwame is excited to begin magical training with his new friends at school, but he can’t access his magic powers! He starts to worry... what if he has no magic at all? Then his friend Fifi starts acting strange. Could an evil magical object be to blame? With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this magical, action-packed adventure!

Genres: Fantasy, Chapter Books, Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Chloe Thomas]

Ok shut up it’s so cute!! The book ended with such a cliffhanger and the kids are that up!

[Bayley Mae]

Such a fun magic-school book filled with adventure and whimsy! Can’t wait to see where Kwame’s story goes!

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Tracy Lander]

This is Bernard Mensah's debut children's story and he written a story to his strengths. He was born and raised in Ghana and this is based on Ghanaian and Akan beliefs and culture.

Kwame is 8 and now he gets to go to school but not just any school, this is Nkonyaa school - a school of magic. Every child is given a Calabash from the tree, but when Kwame touches it something strange happens and then his Calabash doesn't seem to want his gifts of Kola nuts, which should be accepted before telling him his magic skill. Why? Does he not have magic?
His new roommate Fifi is unhappy at the school as some older girls pick on him and he gets angry. Kwame has a scary nightmare and wakes to find Fifi has already gone from their room but then, Kwame's nightmare begins to come true. How can he with no magic at all help?

I really like the details about the culture and especially pronunciation of the words. Large sized text, short chapters and illustrations by Natasha Nayo push this into the emerging reader category but would suit those looking for magical stories, a perfect beginning to a new story series. Out now.
Thanks to Kiran at Scholastic for this copy.

[McKenzie Richardson]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

It's Kwame's first year at Nkonyaa School, where children learn about their innate magic and how to use it with the help of magical calabashes. But when he arrives, his teachers can't figure out the magic of his calabash.

A fun adventure inspired by Akan beliefs and practices. Mensah pulls in different aspects of Ghanaian and general African culture including Twi words as spells, Adinkra symbols, and the game, Oware.

I really enjoyed learning about the magic system in this book. Nicely-written with themes of friendship, bullying, and the stress of feeling like you don't belong.

Engaging black-and-white illustrations help break up the text and pair well with the action of the story.

At the back are sections with information about Ghana and the Akan, how Mensah tied real-world elements into the magic system in the book, and reflection questions.

Nice start to a new series. This one sets up the magic system and introduces the series' conflict. I definitively want to read the second book to see what happens next.

[D]

I read this book series to my son last year and asked him for his review. He said:

Tell the author that we should make costumes of kids at Nkonyaa School uniforms and that his books is amazing because Kwame is cool and my favorite character. Its great with some happy and sad events.

Highly rated by my then-4-year-old son!

As for me, the grown-up in this equation, I really appreciated the pacing of the story. Each chapter made him beg for ONE MORE CHAPTER, and as other parents may know, that is a lovely problem to have when bedtime stories already run an hour long LOL

Eagerly awaiting book 5!!

[Therearenobadbooks]

4.5 Perfect for readers of Dragon Masters.

I am surprised how much action and scenes the author and illustrated managed to fit in such a short read. Awesome. 

Kwame is excited to start school and learn his magic type, but it doesn't go as they expected. It doesn't react like other students' magic. Until something happens to his friend and Kwame's magic will be the only one to help. Themes: dealing with a new boarding school, missing home and parents, making new friends, friends having your back, adventure, magic gone bad, friendship, community, African culture, history, and heritage.  

I love that there are extras at the end and we'll learn more and more about Africa with this series. Awesome, short adventure.

[Ms. Yingling]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Reminiscent of Blackwood's Race to Fire Mountain, with some similarities to other magical academy books, with a sorting tree choosing the students' calabashes. This would be good for readers wanting a shorter fantasy series, but since I haven't been able to get kids interested in Blackwood's book, I think I'll pass on purchasing for my middle school library. Would definitely purchase for elementary students.

[Caroline]

Honestly, this is a much better early chapter book than I was expecting it to be. The West African fantasy is naturally woven into the story and is explained for young readers in a way that will catch their attention. The stakes are pretty high for a book at this level, but in a good way. This doesn't baby to younger readers and I know some kids who will really like that. Sets up a "chosen one" series with lots of lively illustrations. Highly recommend.

[Elizabeth]

This was a very fast paced, very interesting read. The fact that it is so fast paced will make it easier for reluctant readers to dive in and stay interested throughout the whole story.

I really liked that the magic in this book is based on parts from various African Cultures. There's information in the back about inspirations, vocabulary and questions so that adults can help check their kiddo's reading comprehension if desired

[Kathy]

Great boy-centered fantasy set in a Ghana-like magical world. Like Harry Potter, the magical kids go off to a boarding school to learn magic, but these are 8-year-olds rather than tweens. The short sentences, large font and many pictures interspersed make it accessible for early readers. If this were aimed at older readers, it would have been longer, but the short length (85 pages) makes it less intimidating.

[Sabrina Williams]

This is a 2025-2026 K-2 Sunshine State book. I thought this was okay. The cliffhanger was a bit annoying because I didn't expect it to end on one, but at the same time, I guess it's good for kids because they have to learn at some point that not all books wrap up nicely especially when they're part of a series. I don't think I would continue the series.

[Simon Says Hellooo]

Interesting Series Start

I love the magic system! Kwame and his friends are interesting and fun to follow. The school has a fun magic system as well. The art is gorgeous.

This follows Kwame who starts at a magic school but doesn’t know what magic type he is. Things get interesting once he finds out.

[Jahna]

Book 8! of my 25 children's book list!

Fast paced, rooted in Ghanaian culture, deals with friendship, good and evil, bullying, and if there's magic in all of us...

Fun read, I can imagine that many kids would like this and want to read the other books in the series. It ended on a cliffhanger and I definitely want to find out what happens to Kwame and his friend Fifi!

[Jennybeast]

On the one hand, yay for alternative magical models, yay for drawing from Ghanaian tradition, yay for alternatives to toxic masculinity and for and interesting setting. On the other hand, does it really have to be a chosen one story?

[Dipuo Marima]

The day has finally come for eight-year-old Kwame to start Nkonyaa School and learn magic! Kwame is excited to begin magical training with his new friends at school, but he can’t access his magic powers

[Brianna]

It was a fine story; quick read. It's good for kids that *think* they're ready for Harry Potter, but really aren't ready for that amount of reading/comprehension. I like that there is African culture at the root of the story.

[Kimberly Davis]

What the heck??? How could it end like that??? Such a cliff hanger.
The kids will enjoy this one. It’s part of the SSYRA JR list for K-2nd grade. Definitely one that will need some support for lower level readers but I can see them getting hooked and wanting to read more of the series.

[Kaitlyn]

This was such a fun book! I can't wait to see what happens in book 2.

[Matt Glaviano]

Meh.

A pretty average first year of magic school type story. The different kinds of magic are pretty typical. Carrying a calabash bowl everywhere seems like a cumbersome way to make magic.

[Robin]

Ghanaian Harry Potter for beginning chapter book readers.

[Dyck House]

Fun book

[Margaret Boling]

12/31/2024 ~ I appreciated the explicitly African (Ghanaian) influences on the magical academy. I look forward to reading more of this series in the Scholastic Branches line.

[Mathabatha]

"The Rise of the Green Flames" is a mesmerizing fantasy adventure with rich world-building and compelling characters.

[Matsobane Debbie]

Nice read

[Reader]

The author skillfully crafts a captivating story filled with intrigue, magic, and adventure that kept me hooked from start to finish.

[Reneiloe]

Loved it! What a read ❤

[Mamaamo]

Word building and com
Pelling characters

[Mahlako]

The rise if the greenish a friendship come together to fully chapter the perfect fans of dragon masters

[Zelda123]

the firstbstartbofn kwame magic quest remedies are best for junior higher

[Tommy]

"Magical adventure unfolds! Kwame's bravery shines in this thrilling, action-packed fantasy quest series!"