Hocus and Pocus and the spell for home by A. R. Capetta, illustrated by Charlene Chua

 A new beginning chapter series from Candlewick! The format of this will definitely remind readers and librarians of classics like Mercy Watson and Princess in Black, but it's a completely new storyline and characters.

Jinx, a pink-haired witch in overalls, finds a litter of somewhat magical puppies, including Hocus and Pocus. She takes them to a shelter where the human running it assures them they won't be there long. But Hocus and Pocus want to stay together! They use their small magical talents - Hocus can tell the future two minutes ahead by looking into someone's eyes and Pocus can turn bad feelings into colored bubbles and eat them - to create magical mischief that keeps them from being adopted separately. When Jinx returns to the shop and creates a potion for finding home, they hope she'll adopt them and Hocus, the braver of the two pups, convinces Pocus to stow away and visit Jinx's home.

When they arrive, they meet Jinx's three apprentices, who introduce themselves, their magical talents, and their pronouns and Pocus is so busy making new friends he forgets he and Hocus are supposed to be looking for a magical potion to find home for themselves! When Hocus finally finds the potions, she makes accidental mischief and the magic goes all wrong - or does it?

Like other beginning chapter series from Candlewick, this is just under 100 pages. The font is about the size of a typical easy reader, but in longer paragraphs. Chua, whose art will be familiar to fans of the Amy Wu picture books, dots the pages with colorful illustrations of cute puppies, magical spells, and some full-page illustrations showing lush green meadows and quirky old houses.

Kindness and inclusivity radiate throughout the pages, from the characters introducing themselves with their pronouns to their thoughtfulness for the feelings of all creatures. This doesn't prevent the characters from being strong or having definite personalities - apprentice Ofelia holds back the results of an unfortunate spell with her magical sword skills and Jinx, although she apologizes to the pups for not realizing they belonged with her at first, still makes sure that she can take care of them before bringing them home.

I have mixed feelings about the changing conventions around people introducing themselves with their pronouns, especially for kids, in the "real world" but it makes sense in the context of the world-building in this sweet story. If librarians are concerned about possible complaints on this issue, my guess would be that those likely to complain about this will not want to be reading books about witches and magic anyways.

Verdict: A sweet, magical story for kids who love fantasy and puppies and a great addition to beginning chapter book collections. I'd also include this in my collection of "gentle reads" for beginning chapter readers who enjoy stories like Mercy Watson, Paula Harrison's Kitty, and Asia Citro's Zoe & Sassafrass.

ISBN: 9781536224924; Hardcover/Chapter book binding on B&T for $9.51

Published May 2024 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library