Garlic and the Witch: A Graphic Novel

by Bree Paulsen, Bree Paulsen (Illustrator)

Overview

Bree Paulsen’s brave little protagonist, Garlic, is back in this charmingly illustrated standalone companion to Garlic and the Vampire, serving up another tale of friendship, magic, and self-discovery. Give both books to readers who fell in love with Tidesong or Witch Boy!

Garlic loves spending time with Witch Agnes, Carrot, and her new friend, the Count, who has proven to be a delightful neighbor to the village of vegetable people rather than a scary vampire. But despite Agnes’s best attempts to home-brew a vegetarian blood substitute for Count, the ingredient she needs most can only be found at the Magic Market, far from the valley.

Before she knows it, with a broomstick in hand, Garlic is nervously preparing for a journey.

But Garlic is experiencing another change too—finger by finger, she appears to be turning human. Witch Agnes assures her that this is normal for her garden magic, but Garlic isn’t so sure that she’s ready for such a big change. After all, changes are scary…and what if she doesn’t want to be human after all?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062995131
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	287 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Bree Paulsen is a SoCal writer and illustrator who loves spooky monsters, fashion history, and all things autumnal. After graduating from the Laguna College of Art and Design with a BFA in animation, she freelanced on a few independent animation and illustration projects before tuning her focus toward comics. She started her webcomic, Patrik the Vampire, in 2013 and self-publishes its printed volumes. Her first middle grade graphic novel, Garlic and the Vampire, received a starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, which called it “folkloric…a down comforter of a graphic novel.” Garlic’s adventures continue in Garlic and the Witch. 

Editorial Reviews

"The cheerful art, rendered in an autumnal palette, and relatable characters remain the series’ main draw. Earnest and thoughtful." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-08-17
In this follow-up to Garlic and the Vampire (2021), vegetable helpers become human.

In Paulsen’s first foray into this world, Garlic and her vegetable friends showed up fully formed. The second installment explains how they were harvested when melancholy, light-skinned Witch Agnes decided to grow herself some helpers, making her world a brighter place. She’s still working on a blood substitute for her vampire friend, Count, and sends Garlic and Count to a far-off market to retrieve some bloodroot. Garlic, meanwhile, is worried about sprouting a fifth finger, not having been told that she and her vegetable friends would eventually become human. There are a few sticky storytelling moments—it’s hard to believe that it would take the witch so long to remember that a plant called bloodroot might be helpful in synthesizing blood, and it’s unclear for quite a while that Garlic’s concerns revolve around her number of fingers. The cheerful art, rendered in an autumnal palette, and relatable characters remain the series’ main draws, though this story veers a bit more toward cloying sentimentality than the first, with many overt conversations about being yourself and embracing change even though it’s scary. Still, though, when the vegetables turn into a multiracial group of humans, readers will close the book feeling good.

Earnest and thoughtful. (Graphic novel. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews