Isadora Moon Goes to School - Hardcover

HARRIET MUNCASTER is the author/illustrator of the picture books I Am a Witch's Cat, and Happy Halloween Witch's Cat! She holds two degrees in illustration and has lived on the same hill in Hertfordshire, England, for as long as she can remember. Isadora Moon is her first chapter book series.

Gr 1–3—Isadora Moon is special because she is half fairy and half vampire. Now Isadora's parents want her to start school, but she's not sure where she belongs—fairy school or vampire school? ("I just don't know if I am more fairy or more vampire! I love magic, sunshine, and dancing around campfires, but I also love the black of night, and flying among the moon and stars."). She spends time at both schools, and when neither is the perfect fit and Isadora is about to give up hope, she meets some human children walking home from school. ("Some of them are scruffy, and some of them were neat. Some of them were loud, and some of them were quiet...and the thing was, none of them seemed to mind!") Isadora comes to realize that everyone is different. Illustrated with charming pink-and-black drawings, this is a good story about acceptance, being different, and finding one's place in the world. The language and vocabulary are challenging, offering a solid step up for independent readers not quite ready for middle grade novels. VERDICT This charming and funny start to a new chapter book series would make a fine addition to most collections.—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN