Harriet Muncaster

Isadora's mother is a fairy and her father is a vampire. She has a great life - she loves her fluttering wings and being awake during the day, she does NOT like red drinks (especially tomatoes) and taking baths in the pond. Then her parents tell her she must go to school. Vampire or fairy school? They decide she must try both. At fairy school Isadora tries to wish for carrot cake - her favorite - but gets a giant carrot. She's not allowed to wear her sparkly black tutu in dance and as a show more result fails miserably. Finally, she picks unlucky (and poisonous) toadstools for her flower crown! Maybe she really is a vampire and not a fairy at all. At vampire school, she finds out that she can't fly in fast formation like the vampires, she hates the tomatoes and other red food they all eat, and her beloved pink rabbit toy lets everyone's bats escape. Isadora is miserable - where does she belong?

After she talks to some of the human children outside their gate, whom she's never dared approach before, Isadora wonders if she's something unique and special - herself. Perhaps there's a school that will be just right for her?

Isadora and the other fantasy creatures are all white, the human children a diverse group. The illustrations are all in black, white, and gray with pink wash over the fairy scenes and pink accents when Isadora is with the vampire side of her life. The message about diversity and what it's like to come from two different cultures is emphasized, but I have mixed feelings about it. Her parents are, to put it mildly, clueless about Isadora's miserable experiences and both stick strongly to wanting her to go with their side of the family, although in the end they approve of her choice. It's nice to see the humans shown as accepting of differences and a good place for Isabella to celebrate her differences, but the message seems to be that if you're biracial there's no place for you in either heritage and you have to find a new place for yourself.

Verdict: I might be (probably am) overthinking this. It's a cute and funny story with adorable illustrations and a friendly, cheerful message. The vocabulary is a little advanced for a beginning chapter book, but I can definitely see kids enjoying this. So, a nice addition to your library if you want more beginning chapter books but not necessarily a good choice for diversity.

ISBN: 9780399558214; Published 2016 by Stepping Stone/Random House; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

A little girl declares herself a witch's cat in this charming picture-book from British author/illustrator Harriet Muncaster, casting her loving mother as the witch. Given the "potions" her mother keeps in the bathroom, the odd things she buys at the store, and the cackling she does when her friends come over, the girl's idea that her mother is a witch - a good witch of course! - is not so wild. Perpetually clothed in a cat suit, the little girl acts out her own role throughout. The show more conclusion of the book - or, at least, the concluding illustration - raises the possibility that the girl/cat has not been imagining things...

As someone who loves witchy picture-books, I have been meaning to pick up I Am a Witch's Cat and its sequel (Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat) for some time now. I am glad that I did, as I found the story quite cute. I liked the tongue-in-cheek aspect here, how the narrative encourages the reader to think that the little girl is simply imagining that her mother is a witch, only to call that impression into question with the final illustration, which depicts the mother flying through the air on her broom. Of course, that too could be the daughter's imagining. The mixed media artwork here, created using scenes that are made with fabric, watercolor, and pen and ink, and then photographed, was highly interesting. That said, I'm not sure it was entirely to my taste - in fact, I usually find such illustrations flat and creepy, rather than cute. Of course, given the subject matter, maybe creepy is appropriate. Tastes vary, and some readers will undoubtedly appreciate Muncaster's artwork more than I did. It is to them, and to readers who enjoy witchy picture-books, that I would recommend this one. show less

The little girl who plays the role of her witch-mother's cat returns in this charming Halloween follow-up to her initial adventure, I Am a Witch's Cat. In this new picture-book, our "feline" heroine attempts to pick out a Halloween costume, only to find something wrong with every option, from vampire to ghost. Finally she hits on the perfect solution - she will go as a witch, and her mother can go as the witch's cat - and she and her mother enjoy the Halloween party they have show more thrown...

Although I did enjoy British author/illustrator Harriet Muncaster's initial story about this little girl/cat, I didn't warm to it as much as I expected, given my love both for cat stories and witchy picture-books. I suspect this is because the artwork - created using miniature three-dimensional scenes crafted from paper, foil, fabric and other objects - although very creative, wasn't quite to my taste. Despite this ambivalence regarding the artwork in the first book, I wasn't as put off by the visuals in Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat, even though they were created using the same method. Quite the contrary, I found them colorful and cute, and thought the story itself was sweet. Perhaps I just needed a little more exposure to Muncaster's style, to appreciate it. After all, what's that they say about familiarity being a large part of what shapes our tastes? However that may be, this was an entertaining and ultimately sweet little Halloween confection, one I would recommend to readers who enjoyed the first book, as well as to anyone looking for gentler Halloween fare for the picture-book set. show less

Isadora Moon is half-fairy, half-vampire and now it is time to go to school. She has to decide which school she wants to attend. She tries both fairy school and vampire school but neither is a good fit. So she is in a dilemma. Where does she go to school?

I enjoyed Isadora. I especially liked her sidekick, Pink Rabbit. Isadora knows who she is and when she meets the human kids going home from their school she realizes that she is like all of them--different. She realizes different isn't bad. show more It's just different but that makes the world interesting. show less