The Witches of Winderry Spires by Karen Foxlee

"You are the Clock Tower Girl for a reason. That reason is for you to decide. If that makes you feel worse, remember: everyone has felt the same way as you."

I am going to unpack the opening sentence: "Lucy Broadmeadow was the very last person in all of the Kingdom that anyone would have expected to receive the green ribbon letter."

The letter has come from the Ticking Witch but why has Lucy been chosen? What is a green ribbon letter?

"Lucy was neither academic nor good at public speaking. She was good at doing dangerous things, though. She could cartwheel very well and hang upside down from tree branches just using her legs (and she was good at) ... pretending she was an explorer."

What do we know about the Kingdom? Early in the story we read that there are five Kingdoms but no one goes to the fifth one in the North. Lucy comes from the South and Winderry Spires is in the Middle Kingdom. Lucy has been selected to be the new clock tower girl. She has been sent a green ribbon to wear in her hair. Green smoke has signaled that the letter has been sent from the Winderry Spires. Lucy has to leave her home and travel to the Spires. The clock tower itself is part of the Spires.

"The clock was situated in the right spire, only it wasn't just one clock face, it was several faces jammed into one large face, all of them doing different things, some hands whirring fast and other hands jerking slowly."

Clearly something is wrong with the clock and as she arrives Lucy notices it hasn't stopped chiming. That is of course only the start of things. On the kitchen table Lucy finds her instructions. They seem very strange and very specific. She has to clean the kitchen; make a plain cake; feed Mustard; tell Sig to practice swimming; read a book entitled 'How to be the Clock Tower Girl'; and only open the door to wizards.

By now I imagine you are filled with questions. I won't answer all of them because, well, this is a five star book, so you need to read it for yourself (quickly head to your bookshop and grab this book today). I will however fill you in about the main characters. You have already met Lucy Broadmeadow. Sig is Sigehelm Effra Aethelwold the Second and he is a small water dragon. I loved the way Lucy can read his emotions which are expressed as colours. He is a very important character so it is lucky you can just call him Sig! Mustard lives in the stable just past the garden wall. You should have spotted Mustard on the cover - yes he is the winged horse but please, if you meet him, do not mention his wings. There is also Boy**, an apprentice wizard and a sky-ulf who Lucy names Midnight. As you read this book you will discover each of these characters has a back story and that participating in this quest will help them answer their own life questions.

"Everything is a journey. Whether it is climbing the stairs to deliver supper of sweeping the Spires or stepping inside the clock when it's your time. The most important part of a journey is not who is by your side, where you have come from, and where you are going. It is you. How will you approach the journey. Will you be brave? Will you be kind? Will you be happy?"

Wait a minute though, why haven't I talked about the Ticking Witch? Well, that's the crux of this story - she is missing and it will be Lucy's job, with the help of her friends, to find her and in turn restore the balance to the Kingdoms. Yes, this will be very dangerous and yes Lucy will be frightened at times and filled with doubt that she can do this but (spoiler alert) of course she can. 

Why is the Ticking Witch missing? What happened to the other past Clock Tower Girls? I cannot tell you - you do need to read this book.

Do spend time taking a close look at the cover of The Witches of Winderry Spires (Lucy Zhang) - I didn't do this until I finished my reading. I am glad I waited because it is only after reading this book that all the tiny cover details will make sense - even the little green ribbon in Lucy's hair!

Reading The Witches of Winderry Spires (I know this sounds strange) I kept feeling that Karen Foxlee was smiling a huge smile as wove her storytelling magic with her special heroine Lucy Broadmeadow and her unique cast of friends. And the setting made me think of the television program Midsummer Murders. I could so easily visualise the village and all the groups of magical people who arrive when Lucy summons them for the Grand Counsel.

When I saw this book I just knew it HAD to be fabulous. It is hardcover with green edges to the paper and spot varnish used for the embossed title. This book comes from Allen and Unwin (thanks for the advance cop) and it is only AUS$24.99. Today - 29th September - is publication day. Huge congratulations to Karen Foxlee (and her publisher) this book is certain to one that readers aged 9+ will enjoy and it could also be a wonderful book to read in your family. I also expect to see The Witches of Winderry Spires on the CBCA Younger Readers 2027 Notables list. 

Image source: Allen and Unwin

Publisher blurb: No one ever knows what happens to the Clock Tower Girls ... The last thing Lucy Broadmeadow expected was to become the Clock Tower Girl and be sent to live with the witch at faraway Winderry Spires. But when she arrives the witch is missing, the clock won't stop chiming and an injured winged wolf-pup appears – all signs that there is a Rift tearing the world apart. Lucy might not be magical, but she is kind and brave. And she does have the help of her new companions – Sig the water dragon and Mustard the gloomy Pegasus. Can Lucy and her friends find the witch, save the wolf-pup and heal the Rift before time runs out?

If you enjoyed The Phantom Toll Booth, you will love The Witches of Winderry Spires. The cast of eccentric characters that I already mentioned who arrive for the Grand Counsel are especially delightful and reminded me of the creative names used by authors like Margaret Mahy.

Do take a minute to read the labels I have assigned this post. You could talk about book tropes with your library group or young reading companion:

• The Chosen One or the Everyman turned Hero
• The Quest
• The Hidden World
• The Helpful Friends
• Overcoming fear and facing danger
• Destiny

Companion books to read after The Witches of Winderry Spires:

The Hotel Witch

A Wolf for a Spell

The Girl who drank the Moon

Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup

You may know I am a big fan of Karen Foxlee - here are other books I previously talked about. It is interesting that this newest book references the main character in Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy**. 

Lenny's Book of Everything

Dragon Skin

The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe

A Most Magical Girl

Ophelia and the marvelous boy

The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm

The Grey Beret's guide to Surviving the Odds by Anna Battese illustrated by Erin Reeves

Three bad things have already happened to Odie - the worst is the third:

"When Odie turned eight, her mother - a beloved and renowned biologist - disappeared in a stampede of pink-fairy armadillos during an expedition in central Argentina."

Odie has retreated into her room and her father, in his grief, has also withdrawn. Odie is now homeschooled but wait - just in case I have made you very sad we also discover Odie has messenger pigeons. Her pigeons named Pudding and Plonk, deliver her homework to the Homely Homeschooling Assessment Centre. Odie also has her cat named Knuckles - he had been her mother's rescue tomcat. When I said Odie had withdrawn - she now lives in her room. Her father does make delicious food which is delivered via a small elevator.

"Her father was very good at making sure she had everything she could ever need. And yet, since Odie's mother had gone, he seemed as baffled by the world as Odie was afraid of it, and he preferred to spend his time alone, in the silence."

The stage is set for change - CHANGE. First of all, a strange book arrives addressed to Cadet Odie Gusberry-Smith with the intriguing title 

"The Grey Beret's guide to Surviving the Odds. Volume one."

Yes, this book does sound strange, but it is a perfect fit for Odie because she is a girl of facts not fairy tales. She happily reads chapter after chapter about poisonous plants, dangerous reptiles, and the antidotes for eighty-seven kinds of toxins. But can the information in this book and her newly made coat with thirty-eight pockets help with her next big life event? Her father announces they are going on a cruise. And Odie, and you as the reader, are sure to think of shipwrecks, islands, survival and perhaps the importance of making new friends with kids her age along with a baby dressed up as a chicken. Dressed up?  Yes the sinking of the ship happens on the night of the Halloween dress-up party so all kids - Baby (a chicken), Gus (dressed as the ship's captain), Sunny (a donkey pinata), and Chuck (real name Charlotte dressed in a black tulle ball gown) are in costumes except for Odie who luckily has her survival pockets.

Publisher blurb: Odie Gusberry-Smith doesn't like surprises. But when a mysterious package arrives in the mail, she finds The Grey Beret's Guide to Surviving the Odds – a book that feels like it was written just for her. Odie is going to need it, because her dad has had the ridiculous idea that they should go on a cruise. When calamity strikes (as she could have told you it would), Odie will need to use every trick in the Guide to keep herself and her alarmingly danger-prone group safe. Along the way, she might just realise that the Guide is not the only thing she can rely on…

When I read this Instagram post from Gleebooks Kids I knew this was a book I needed to read. 

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"She'd worked so hard on preparing for exactly this kind of calamity, but now that it was here, in actual real life, she wasn't quite sure what to do."

"Part of being a Grey Beret is preparing for the worst. So, when you all fell asleep, I did a risk mitigation plan. Our greatest risk was catching hypothermia from the waves and rain. Luckily I had a tarp in my eleventh pocket. Once I put it up, the risk of us catching hypothermia dropped by thirty-five percent. And then I found the space blankets in pocket thirteen, and that brought the risk down to twenty per cent."

If you are sharing this book in your library you could read Chapters 16 and 17 which is the scene where the kids are almost 'eaten' by huge plant-frogs.

This book is sure to be included on the CBCA 2027 Notables Books list. I especially appreciate the way it is designed and that it is presented in hardcover with spot varnish on the cover. I read this book from beginning to end in one sitting. Note my label melodrama - that seems like the perfect descriptor. I thoroughly enjoyed the tone of this book with Odie constantly quoting statistics and catastrophising every scenario.  And yes, we do eventually reach a happy ending, BUT I have to warn you this is part one of a planned trilogy and turning the last page you will be so keen to reach for the next book - but I cannot discover the date it will be released - sorry. 

Odie is a sweet protagonist, coping with grief, loneliness and trying to find ways to manage her ever-present fear. The world Anna Battese has created is wild and whimsical ... Readings Melbourne

I previously talked about this book by Anna Battese:

The Recorder Racket

Companion books:

The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters

The Lost Island

Pearly and Pig and the Great Hairy Beast

Giraffe Island

The Detective's Guide to Ocean Travel

You're Too Little by Katie Stewart

You have big eyes to see in the dark.

You have strong paws to hold on.

And you have a super special tail.

You have want it takes. Why not give it a go?

Bookseller blurb: Pygmy Possum wants to climb far, far up into the trees to taste the sweet blossom nectar. But everyone keeps telling her the same thing- 'It's very high. You're too little. You might fall.' Are they right, or will she find a way? This is a gentle tale of believing in yourself in the face of others' doubt and recognising your own strengths.

The main character in this story of bravery and confidence is a Western Pygmy Possum. Here is a photo:

Image source: Australian Geographic

Books with a repeated refrain are perfect for preschoolers either to read beside your own child or with a group. I like the way the Australian animals in this book really look like real animals and also the choices of animals are perfect because many of these will be less well known to young readers and so might spark some curiosity. 

Image Source: WA Museum

Katie Stewart reads her book in this video. Here are the teaching notes from the publisher. As background reading for teachers or if you set a research task for older students you might like to read more about each of the Australian animals in this story:

• Western Pygmy Possum
• Numbat
• Brushtail Possum
• Gecko
• Weebill

This is a Weebill - I had not heard of this bird

Image Source: Birdlife

This is a gentle tale of believing in yourself in the face of others’ doubt and recognising your own strengths, to have faith in yourself regardless of others’ opinions and develop resilience, perseverance and that inner strength that allows risk-taking as well as dealing with success and failure. The Bottom Shelf

Thanks to Fremantle Press for sending me a copy of this book which was published on 29th July 2025. This book reminded me a little of Puffling. If you are talking about growing up, confidence, perseverance, self belief and 'the right time' you could read these two books side by side.

The story is set at night because these animals are nocturnal but that gives rise to my only tiny criticism of this book - I found myself wanting a break from the strong saturated blue of the night sky which is used on every page. 

This book is part of a series:

Katie Stewart is an author and illustrator. Born in the north of England, she came to Australia at the age of nine. She started her working life as an archaeologist and ethnohistorian, went on to teaching and then to being a mother. She later worked in a school library, but her lifelong dream was to be what she is now. She is married to a farmer, has three children, and her great love of animals means she has a lot of pets and takes lots of nature photos. In her spare time, she tries to play the harp or wanders the countryside with a metal detector amusing the neighbours and occasionally finding an interesting piece of history. Her books have been shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year (2020 and 2021) and shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards (2022).

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Tooth Fairy by Briony Stewart

The full title of this book is:

Everything you need to know about the tooth fairy 
(and somethings you didn't)

Begin with the cover. Briony Stewart is a master of movement. Go back and look at her book Gymnastica Fantastica. I love the way the magic is swirling around on this cover and you can almost hear those little sparkles. Now turn to the tooth filled end papers - these really set up the early statistics quoted by Briony:

"Every single minute of every single day, a child somewhere loses a baby tooth. In fact if you put all the children of the world together, they are losing more than 200 teeth a minute - that's 300,000 teeth every day!"

Each page in this book poses and answers an important tooth fairy question such as these (but there are more):

• What's a tooth fairy?
• What do they do with the teeth?
• Why do tooth fairies like children's teeth?
• How do they take your tooth?
• Where do tooth fairies live?
• What happens if I want to keep my tooth?
• Why does the tooth fairy leave different amounts of money? (or sometimes forget to come!)
• How do tooth fairies know when you've lost a tooth?

I am sure we will see this book listed as a 2025 CBCA Notable but will it be in Picture Book or Early Childhood or perhaps even Non Fiction? This book would be a terrific gift and I would also add it to a class mini unit about the tooth fairy. 

Here are some splendid teachers notes written by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright and she has included a very extensive reading list with lots of picture books I certainly need to find and read.

Here are my own favourite tooth fairy books. All of these would be great to read alongside or after this new book by Briony Steward:

Oliver Sundew tooth fairy - 

this is long out of print but it is also one of my most favourite books to read aloud

The Tooth Fairy - this is wonderful wordless book

The tooth mouse

It's a Miroocool!

The Big Dreaming by Michael Rosen illustrated by Daniel Egneus

Following the pattern of the classic story 'Are you my mother?' Little Bear goes in search of dreams. 

"The cold was coming, and it was time to get ready for the Sleep - for bears sleep all winter long and wake in the spring. Little Bear was worried. 'Will I dream during the Sleep, Big Bear?'"

Yes, Litte Bear will dream - it is the Big Dreaming. But Little Bear is worried - what if he runs out of dreams. He decides to ask for help. 

"Do you have any spare dreams, for when we sleep, deep, deep?"

The squirrel shares a dream about happiness; the rabbit shares a dream about coming home safe; and the wolf shares a dream about always having hope.

Little Bear heads home and these dream ideas help him on his journey. The final words in this book, which is sure to become a classic, will melt your heart:

"Big Dreaming, Little Bear.' said Big Bear.

"Big Dreaming, Big Bear.' said Little Bear curling up next to him.

And so, they slept. And they dreamed ... and dreamed ... 

and dreamed  ... 

All the way to spring."

You already know the classic and very famous book by Michael Rosen We're going on a Bear Hunt. This new title (he is such a talent) is sure to be just a big a hit with your young reading companion or in your preschool. This book needs a huge sticker on the front cover with the word CLASSIC!!

This heart-warming picture book from renowned children’s writer Michael Rosen has all the elements of a modern bedtime classic. The familiar caregiver relationship between the two bears and the gentle, lyrical text make this a lovely one to snuggle up and enjoy with little ones before their own sleep. Themes of hope, perseverance and homecoming will be comforting to sleepy young listeners whilst the stunning illustrations capture the mood of the passing seasons.   Book Trust

In quiet harmony, the images and words of The Big Dreaming will console, comfort and give hope to any young bear from 3 years upwards. Just Imagine

I would pair this book with the Little Bear series by Martin Waddell beginning with this one:

You might also look for Little Cub by Olivier Dunrea.

Daniel Egneus is originally from Sweden now living in Athens. Look at his Instagram post about The Big Dreaming. And in this post he shares his preparatory sketches. 

I have previously talked about these books:

Raven Child and the Snow Witch

Lubna and Pebble

The Thing

The Starting School list by Kitty Black illustrated by Cate James

You’ll learn where the loos are, and all about bugs.

You’ll learn a sad friend could do with a hug.

You’ll learn the best spot for sand that is slushy.

You’ll learn that tomato makes sandwiches mushy.

School begins in just over a week and so this is a PERFECT book to share TODAY. 

If you have a new child starting to Kindergarten (big school) please try to find this book. 

I especially enjoyed following the story of the different children in the class room - watch out for the little boy who sits alone and then you will smile when he finally makes a friend. 

Here is the website for Cate James. I have talked about her work in a previous post. Here is an interview with the author Kitty Black. 

I do hope this book has been entered into our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) awards - in Early Childhood and if it has I expect to see it listed as a Notable title when they are announced on 27th February. It could/should even make the short list!

I have a Pinterest collection of Starting School books. 

If you share The Starting School list with an older child (maybe Grade 2 and up) it would be fun to compare the kindness of the older brother with the advice given in this book (1988 so out of print but it might be in a library).