A Wolf for a Spell by Karah Sutton illustrated by Pauliina Hannuniemi

The distrust between the wolves and the witch went back hundreds of wolf generations. No wolf ever interacted with the witch without walking away changed. At least with a human you could search for a knife or an arrow. But the witch’s magic was hidden, and could be used for any number of devious purposes.

Nadya is an orphan. She watches with great sadness when her only and best friend from the orphanage is taken away to be married to the Tsar. 

It was a fairy-tale story of the orphan girl from the woods becoming royalty that would be told by firelight for years. The tsar held to an old forest tradition that anyone who gave him a gift that he deemed worthy would be honored with a royal favor. When he visited the village, Katerina offered him one of her beautifully woven cloaks, soft as a feather and more intricate than a spider’s web. In return he named her to be his bride.

Zima is a wolf pup living alone with her two brothers because their parents have been killed. When her brother is badly injured she desperately needs to save him.

Baba Yaga is an old witch holding onto a terrible guilt. She needs to right this wrong but she is too old to travel far so she is on the lookout for a young wolf pup to use for a switching spell. 

“I must become a wolf. Yet my magic does not allow me to simply transform. I am bound by the laws of the forest, and my magic is always a trade. I need a wolf to switch bodies with me, willingly.”

The lives of these three characters will collide in unexpected ways and I am certain you will be on the edge of your seat hoping for, but not sure if, the story can reach that all important happy ending. Oh and there is also a cheeky raven who can be occasionally very helpful. 

Blurb: Since she was a pup, Zima has been taught to fear humans--especially witches--but when her family is threatened, she has no choice but to seek help from the witch Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga never does magic for free, but it just so happens that she needs a wolf's keen nose for a secret plan she's brewing . . . Before Zima knows what's happening, the witch has cast a switching spell and run off into the woods, while Zima is left behind in Baba Yaga's hut--and Baba Yaga's body! Meanwhile, a young village girl named Nadya is also seeking the witch's help, and when she meets Zima (in Baba Yaga's form), they discover that they face a common enemy. With danger closing in, Zima must unite the wolves, the witches and the villagers against an evil that threatens them all.

Opening sentence: Fear sank its jaws into Zima as she recognized the smell of magic. She pressed her nose to the ground and sniffed again. Like moonlight and decay—it burrowed into her nose, slippery and sinister. She shook her head and huffed to clear out her nostrils.

Here is a description of the tsar: Everything about him was thick and angular. He had an arrowlike nose poking out over the thick beard. When he stood, it was with one foot in front of the other, as though he were ready to begin moving again. His voice rumbled in his square chest.

There are fabulous illustrations in this book:

I picked up this book at a recent charity book sale and read about 1/3 and then because I was going away for a month and because I was SO engrossed in the story and because I cannot carry books in my luggage I also purchased the ebook version to read on the plane. This is one of those 'time is ticking' page turner stories where the 'heroes' have, in this case, only one week until the full moon. 

The cover of this book is also SO appealing and the title in intriguing - it will make more sense after you read the story. And after reading A Wolf for a Spell you will want to hunt out other books about the Baba Yaga and the house with chicken legs. 

Here are a couple of other books I enjoyed that feature wolves:

The Wolf Wilder

Wolf Siren (for readers aged 12+)

A Wolf called Wander

Once I was a Giant by Zeno Sworder

"I never lost my sense of wonder for trees."

At the beginning of this book, we hear the voice of the pencil. "The picture book maker takes me out every night and dances me across a piece of paper. We rush from page to page ... " until the author runs out of ideas. Luckily the pencil has an important story of her own and the means to share it and so he begins with the words "once I was a giant."

Turn the page and we have an origin story which begins with a tiny plant reaching for the sun. We discover the young tree has shared her life journey with a tiny forest being. The tree names him The Wanderer. Seasons change, birds and insects enjoy their habitat in, below and under the tree. The tree itself grows to a majestic size. A considerable period of time passes ...  but then disaster strikes.

"Machines are coming ... they are a day away."

"Last to leave was the wanderer. He gently touched his forehead to my bark."

Stop now and look around you. How many things in your room, or house, or street are made from wood. Where did this wood come from? I often think about towering telegraph poles and how they too once were trees. Our pencil narrator was once a tree, once a giant, but now, with all the work to write his story she is just a stub. That word stub nearly broke my heart but this is not the end. 

Image source: Thames and Hudson

Trees are part of the cycle of nature. The Wanderer knows exactly what to do with that pencil stub. The final end paper will restore your hope and faith in the power of nature.

Tonight, I am attending an event at a city bookstore with Zeno Sworder. I am so excited to finally meet him! Will I be brave enough to ask a few questions such as:

• Why did you decided to dispense with the usual title page format? Was it difficult to convince your publisher Thames and Hudson that your book should break with the usual convention of picture books?
• What do the letters on your pencil mean? I have been pondering this all week especially after I saw the giant pencil from the book as part of a display in a local chain bookstore.
• Who is The Wanderer?
• Can you explain the decisions you made to compose the title? Once I was a Giant - past tense? Yet at the end there is so much hope that this giant can return.
• Your first book This small blue dot was based on your experiences in your own family with your young child. My Strange Shrinking parents focused on your own migrant family and your relationship with your own parents. This third book takes a wider focus exploring nature and our human impact on our precious world. SO where to next?

This is a book to add to your library collection, and it is one you will want to share with your reading companion or larger group. In an art class, after reading this book slowly, and pondering the deeper meanings, Once I was a Giant is also a wonderful example of highly skilled art and page design. 

You already know I am not entirely a fan of endorsements on the covers of books but the publisher has cleverly enticed the famous Shaun Tan to share his reaction to Once I was a Giant:

"A magical blend of ancient and modern storytelling, reminding us that all things are deeply connected in ways both known and unknown."

And Zana Fraillon said:

"A beautiful, wholly original story of hope and the more-than-human world. Once I was a giant is a stunning blend of language and imagery that sits in the mind long after reading. This is the work of a master picture-book creator."

My friend, who is a former Hans Christian Andersen judge, used the words enigmatic, wise, challenging, deep and breathtaking when I asked her for her reaction to Once I was a Giant. I will share the details of her review when I update this post next month. 

With older students it would be good to research Daoist beliefs that "every living thing holds an essence, a mystery; that cannot be measured or counted or sorted." This is called bianhua. And you could also research the Buddhist idea of pratityasumutpada - the belief that the "relationships that hold together the world are based on interconnection and non-separation. Life is interwoven. We breathe in because trees breathe out." Here are some outstanding teachers notes written by Zeno Sworder.

I love this quote from the teachers notes:  It is impossible not to feel a strong sense of empathy and connection with both the pencil that was once this magnificent tree and her small friend, the wanderer. The book elicits in readers a moment to pause and view the world through a different lens, one that carefully regards, respects and notices nature.

From Zeno: This is a book where the tree is the protagonist and hero. As we all tumble towards an increasingly digital, atomised and urbanised world I wanted to make a story about the natural world that touches on ideas of interdependence, metamorphosis and impermanence. Trees make all of our lives possible but they are often absent from stories because we tend to only care and feel for characters that are like us. This story aims to bring trees alive for young people by telling an imaginative story rooted in recent scientific discoveries about the social lives of trees and their abilities to communicate, learn and feel. The story covers the entire span of an individual tree’s life and the intimate relationships it shares with the forest and the creatures that it nourishes and houses.

With incredible drawings and a graphic style illustrating the natural world in all its glory, this powerful story reminds us of humanity’s connection to nature. Portraying the life of a tree from a little seed through to a giant forest elder, Once I was a Giant explores the theme of the cyclical nature of all life, with examples such as eggs in a nest hatching into hungry chicks. By the award-winning author of My Strange Shrinking Parents, this picture book is truly a work of art to pore over again and again, each time discovering new wonders. You’ll never look at a pencil in the same way again! Readings Melbourne

I have followed the career of Zeno Sworder with great interest intensified by my years as a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Picture Book of the Year judge 2021-23. In 2023 My Strange Shrinking Parents was the winner. Read my thoughts here. Kirkus said these words which could also apply to his newest book: This deceptively simple tale is laced with profound, beautifully wrought truths. I am certain Once I was a Giant will feature in the CBCA awards in 2026. 

When you share Once I was a Giant with a group of younger students you could talk about Pencil Day 30th March. Here is a post from Kinderbookswitheverything with lots of books about pencils. Of course, Once I was a Giant does have much deeper themes but I think it could be fun to focus on pencils with your lower primary groups. Again, this is way too simplistic but (spoiler alert) when the wanderer plants the tiny piece of pencil I thought of that wonderful story of imagination from decades ago - The Lollipop Tree. 

Reading Once I was a Giant I thought of these books - picture books and a novel:

Tanglewood

(Zeno suggests this in his teachers notes along with The Red Tree by Shaun Tan)

Once I was a tree 

The tree at number 43

One tree

Toby Alone

(This is a novel for older readers translated from French)

I am also very keen to see this 2025 Korean wordless book. Read the Kirkus star review.

Finally in the teachers notes Zeno Sworder references Silver People: A Tale from the Panama Canal (UQP) by Margarita Engle as a text to share with high school students. I am a huge fan of Margarita Engle (I met her at an IBBY Conference). I have shared several of her books in this blog. 

Beware Beware by Susan Hill illustrated by Angela Barrett

Kitchen's warm.

Smells of spice.

Kettle sings.

Fire bright.

But what's out there?

Beware, beware.

The little girl keeps looking out the window. While her mother is distracted over the cooking pot, she slips outside. 

In long shadows lies the wood.

I knew I could!

I'm here, out there.

Beware, beware!

I will take care.

It is cold and the sound of every footstep echoes against the bare branches of the trees. Who is there? Turn the half page.

Trolls Goblins

Elves Sprites

Mysterious lights

Fingers beckon

Eyes stare

Wolf 

Bear

Dragon's lair

Beware! Beware!

The tension builds and builds until we see the mother come outside to look for her daughter. She finds her thank goodness and brings her back into the safety and warmth of their home but ... The ending is open - it seems this little girl will one day once again venture outside.

If you share this book with a group of older students there is a whole lesson hiding here about the use of repetition and more importantly the use of exclamation marks.

Look at these lines and think about how they might impact the way you read this book aloud.

Beware, beware.

Beware, beware!

Beware! Beware!

Beware! Beware!

Book seller blurb: An atmospheric prose-poem, shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, about a child wandering out into the dark. A little girl looks out at the cold snowy night, while her mother is busy at the kitchen stove. "What's out there?" she wonders. "Don't go!" a voice inside her warns. But curiosity prevails over fear, and she steps out into the snow towards the dark wood. Who knows what scary things await her there? 

It seems impossible to read every book in a school library but my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything actually does this! AND she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the books in her library and also their creators - authors and illustrators. This week, as she packed up her Halloween book display, she passed me Beware, Beware. I will confess I did have this book in my previous school library and while I might have flipped it open at some stage I had not sat down and read this wonderful book until this morning.

Very young children aged 5 and 6 often used to ask me for scary stories. I would give them a Dark, Dark Tale or The Flat Man but given this same opportunity now I would also give them Beware, Beware. Another book illustrated by Angela Barrett - The Hidden House - is one of my most favourite picture books. Angela Barrett has been shortlisted three times for the Kurt Maschler Award and has won the 1989 Smarties Book Prize 6-8 Category for "Can It Be True?", and the 1991 W.H.Smith Illustration Award for "The Hidden House". Her other titles include "The Snow Queen" and "The Walker Book of Ghost Stories". "Beware Beware" was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She also illustrated another wonderful book which is fantastic to read aloud - The Night Fairy.

Of course, you know I am going to say Beware Beware (1993) is now out of print. IF you have a mint condition new copy it is worth more than AUS$200. I did find a copy from an Australian online seller for just AUS$4 so I have made an enquiry about the postage cost. I think I do need to own this very special book!

Versatile full-spread illustrations, delicate and haunting, reflect and enhance the text. The movement from the poetic calm of the salmon pink sky to the frenzy within the wood is graceful and realistic. Split pages in two spreads allow Hill and Barrett to intensify still further the suspense of their wintry drama.  Publisher's Weekly

The Snow Knows by Jennifer McGrath illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

The snow knows

Where the rabbit goes

The snow knows

Where the pheasant sleeps ...

The snow knows where the porcupine ponders

and where the weasel bounds up and down.

Australian children who read this book will encounter lots of unfamiliar animals - and that is one of the joys of this simple tale. Each page also works like a game of hide and seek where your young reading companion can see a small visual hint of the creature on the next page. Lynx, otter, fox, partridge and coyote. I especially love the trees in the illustrations which I think might be larch. This is a perfect book to share on a cold winter day (even though here in Sydney we do not have snow!)

See more illustrations here

Here is the website for the illustrator Josée Bisaillon.  The Snow Knows is the winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. I was excited to see many previous winners have been featured here on my blog. I have put a few at the bottom of this post. 

This is a Canadian picture book published in 2016. It is a title from our Premier's Reading Challenge K-2 list [603347]. This book also contains examples of alliteration and onomatopoeia.

A beautiful book, destined to be a perennial winter favourite, and read aloud by a crackling fire. CBC

Previous winners of the Marilyn Baillie Picture book award from this blog. Pop any title into my search bar for more details. 

Wilder than Midnight by Cerrie Burnell

A baby is born but something is wrong. The mother takes the baby to huntsman and orders him to dispose of the child telling him she is dead. But this baby is not dead. The huntsman takes the tiny newborn to his own home and shortly after this he resigns from his job. Meanwhile the mother, who is actually the Queen, wants a replacement baby so sends her soldiers into the forest late at night and demands a young family surrender their new born baby girl. Baby Aurelia, as she is now named, is presented at her christening but someone arrives, not with a gift, but with a curse. When this girl pieces her finger on a spindle she will fall into a deep sleep and only the kiss from her true love will awaken her. 

Add to this mix a mysterious forest; dangerous wolves; local people under the tyrannical rule of an evil queen who forces them to work in her dangerous mines and three girls who form a team to reveal the truth and set Aurelia free. 

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of the writing:

Opening sentence: "At the edge of a fathomless forest, in a castle grey as could, a baby was born at the stroke of midnight. But, alas, all was not well."

"The scent of honeyed buns and baked currants reached Saffy through the cold. She flitted in through the open door of the bakery and breathed in happiness. On the counter were plates of creamy pastries, apple turnovers, sultana bread and slices of winter cake full of glistening cherries."

"Each wolf found its way to a member of the Forest Folk, and there they stood, heads and hearts level and aligned. ... Oak with her short dark hair, amazing knowledge of the forest and her red wolf named for her rare maple-leaf fur: Red. Jeremiah, the storyteller of the group ... his silver wolf Wisdom lingered by his side, her sharp intelligence glimmering like an aura. ... And Tobias - or Blackbeard - the protector of the group. With his bright eyes and rugged charm, stood with Rogue, his one-eyed cub."

When you pick up this book if you need a chapter to use as a book talk with a group in your library turn to chapter 19. It is filled with porridge, broken chairs, beds and bears but in a way that will delight you. 

If you love fairy tales then I am sure you will enjoy the alchemy of this story where so many favourites or elements of favourites are woven together. Red Riding Hood; Sleeping Beauty; Cinderella; Rapunzel; Goldilocks and the three bears; and the Snow Queen. This book is also a terrific page turner - I almost read it in sitting. Cerrie Burnell creates such a memorable atmosphere in the forest and in the tower where Aurelia is imprisoned and I loved the three feisty girls who work together to restore those two babies, now young girls, to their rightful families. 

Publisher blurb: Silverthorne is a place of secrets and stories. A forest full of twisting paths and tangled thorns. A castle with locked towers and murmurs of tragedy. A village trapped between terrors known and whispered. And something is stirring in the leaves . . . Saffy is a good girl, tired of being told to stick to the forest paths, and always follow the rules. Aurelia is a hidden girl, locked in a castle tower, dreaming of escaping the fate she's told awaits her Wild Rose is a fierce girl, raised by wolves, full of spells and fearlessness and cunning. Together, they will change Silverthorne forever.

I really enjoyed Wilder than Midnight but I went with four stars (nearly five) because I am not a fan of the cover (of course I am not the intended audience).

Wilder than Midnight will be published on 5th May, 2022. Here are some companion reads:

Cerrie Burnell is the author of twelve books. She appeared on the television show CBeebies. Just like Wild Rose in Wilder then Midnignt, Cerrie was born with a partly formed arm. 

The Girl who Planted Trees by Caryl Hart illustrated by Anastasia Suvorova

This book reminded me of Manjhi Moves a Mountain because here we have another book about patience, perseverance and holding fast to dreams. The young girl in this book discovers from her grandfather that once, long ago, the bare mountains near her home were covered with a beautiful green forest. Over time all of the trees have been cut down. 

This young girl is a problem solver. She is determined to fill the mountain with trees once again. So she takes a few seeds from her fruit and plants them at the top of the mountain. Sadly they do not grow into an instant forest. Her grandfather explains it will take a long time for trees to grow and of course any plants up on the dry mountain will need water. 

This is just a small obstacle for our young hero. She talks to people in her town and gathers a bigger collection of seeds. 

"Every day, she planted more seeds and watered them well. And soon the seeds began to sprout!"

The top of the mountain now has a small patch of green. But then disaster strikes. A huge storm destroys every tree - the tiny saplings were just too fragile. If you are sharing this book with a group of older children you could stop at this point and talk about what the children in your class or library might do if this happened to them.  Then keep reading and marvel at the perseverance and patience and wonderful work ethic of this girl. Everyone is sure to cheer when you see how her community responds too.

The Girl who Planted Trees is a new book from the wonderful publisher Nosy Crow (you can see inside this book) and it is available in paperback. Caryl Hart has written lots of books and I am also very keen to see another book illustrated  by Anastasia Surorova:

There are lots of books you could read alongside The Girl who Planted Trees:

The Secret Sky Garden

The Curious Garden

You should also look for one or two of these biographies:

The Wolf's Secret by Myriam Dahman and Nicolas Digard illustrated by Júlia Sardá

"His fur was dark like tree bark after the rain. His eyes were golden like the rising moon. "

"Her hair was dark like the woods and wild like the grass. In the depths of her amber eyes, the Wolf sensed a tenderness that touched his heart."

The wolf is a wild creature but from the edge of the forest he observes a young woman and her daily routine of collecting water and care of her dying father. He loves to hear her sing, "but one morning the young woman didn't come to the well." Her father has died.

In fairy tales we often read about the reward of a good deed. The Wolf catches a rabbit. He hears a voice say "Set me free ... and in return I will help you. I know your sorrow." The rabbit changes into a wizard and his advice is to follow the music but to also remember every choice has a consequence. At the top of a mountain the Wolf finds an enormous egg in a nest. He puts his head through a strap attached to the egg and it shrinks into a bell. Wearing the bell he returns to the young woman. 

The tiny bell gives the Wolf the power of human speech. For seven days the Wolf sits behind the young woman, she sings and he tells stories of the forest. At night the Wolf tries to hunt for his food but the tiny bell alerts his prey. Eventually the Wolf collapses from hunger. When he awakes he discovers the young woman has removed the bell. He can no longer speak to her but since she now has the talisman around her neck some thing miraculous has happened. 

At first I thought this book by French author Myriam Dahman was a translated book, and one review even mentioned this, but I am now fairly sure Myriam and Nicola, also from France, wrote this book in English. 

If you enjoy owning scrumptious books with rich illustrations and intriguing stories I suggest you add this book to your shopping list. Take a look at Júlia Sardá's art here. She lives in Barcelona.

This sumptuous hardback gift book, with gold foil detail, is perfect for lovers of fairy tales and fables, new and old. Hachette Australia

A beautiful and lyrical contemporary fairy tale about difference, trust and the power of friendship to overcome any obstacle, stunningly illustrated in rich autumnal colours ... Achucka

Julia Sarda has created a mysterious, mythical forest in which a bereaved girl finds solace in the company of animals and the rich darkness of leaf and earth. Dahman and Digard’s story turns Red Riding Hood on its head and celebrates the connection we have with the natural world rather than our disconnect from it: less of a fairy-tale style warning of the danger of wild animals than an acknowledgement of the wild within ourselves. Gorgeous. Book Trust

This story resonates on many levels and is a constant feast for the eye with its sumptuous illustrations reminiscent of those in old Russian tales. StoryLinks

Companion reads:

Bear and Wolf

Cherryblossom and the Golden Bear