Witchycakes #2: Changing Magic

by Kara LaReau, Ariane Moreira (Illustrator)

Overview

"While Blue delivers magical baked goods all over their seaside town, they help their neighbors get used to big changes, and in the process, get used to change themselves"--

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798217025862
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Series:	Witchycakes: A Stepping Stone Book (TM) , #2
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.56(w) x 7.94(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

KARA LaREAU s a former editor and award-winning author. Among other celebrated titles, she edited Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie (winner of a NewberyHonor), The Tiger Rising (finalist for the National Book Award), The Tale of Despereaux(winner of the Newbery Medal), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (winner of theBoston Globe Horn Book Award), and the Mercy Watson series. She is also the author of the Geisel-award-winning chapter book series, The Infamous Ratsos, along with many other subversive, silly, and fun books for kids. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband, their kid, and a cat.

ARIANE MOREIRA is a Brazilian illustrator currently based in Germany. Painting digitally, her inspiration comes from fantasy and nature, as she is always aiming to create whimsical and colorful illustrations with those elements. Ariane can be often found playing indie video games, petting her cat Sol, or looking for an excuse to run away to the sea.

Editorial Reviews

2025-05-30
During the autumn equinox, a blue-haired young witch in training learns that not all change is bad.

While baking seasonal treats, Witchycakes business owner Mama Moon teaches her child, Blue (who usesthey/them pronouns), the art of mise en place—or “having everything you need organized and ready before you start.” Later, while delivering baked goods around the seaside village of Shellville, Blue bemoans the end of summer, but their avian best friend and familiar, Gully, points out the lovely sensations of autumn: Mr. Cliff’s fragrant butternut squash ravioli, branches fluttering in the wind, and the foliage that graces the trees. Along the way, Blue uses magic to help a variety of other townspeople struggling with change: two siblings struggling with their weekend job at the Nautilus Inn, a young child upset about the prospect of becoming a big sister, and the agoraphobic owners of a successful online crafting company hoping to open a brick-and-mortar shop. As in the series opener, Moreira’s warm-toned illustrations depict a diverse and supportive community; Blue and Mama Moon are tan-skinned. LaReau has crafted a cozy, feel-good tale that evokes the comforting idea that anyone can cope with change as long as they have the resources to succeed. The concept of mise en place helps to drive home that theme, and the book concludes with a five-step plan for a “Magical Mise en Place.”

Sweet and hopeful—and tinged with magic.(Chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews

"LaReau has crafted a cozy, feel-good tale that evokes the comforting idea that anyone can cope with change as long as they have the resources to succeed....Sweet and hopeful—and tinged with magic." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher