A spunky girl who dresses up as a black cat is sure her mother is really a witch. Turn the pages to see if this is true. Muncaster focuses her debut picture book on the daily activities that this mother and daughter enjoy together. The heroine scampers across the pages in her feline finery and justifies her belief. "I know my mom is a witch because she keeps lots of strange potion bottles in the bathroom that I am NOT allowed to touch." Readers are treated to a page that is a photograph of sculptural miniatures, cut-paper objects and carefully placed fabric and beads. The three-dimensional quality of the scene translates convincingly to the flat page. Young readers will not see potions, however. The items are just shampoo, soap and perfume bottles. Each page turn features another visually rich diorama: the grocery-store aisle, the checkout counter, the garden and the kitchen. Although her mother seems to "grow magical herbs," cackles with her friends and magically makes her feel better whenever she hurts herself, kids will wisely recognize that this imaginative cat is mistakenright? On Friday nights, mom gets a babysitter to stay with her beloved cat-girl. And what does mom do with her night out? Hmm. This heartwarming look at the close bond between mother and daughter stands out for its clever twist and stunningly detailed artwork. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2-A child dressed as a cat is just certain that her mom is a good witch. What other explanation is there for the strange potions she keeps in the bathroom? There are also the eyeballs and fingers she buys from the grocery store and the magical herbs she grows for the bubbling brews. She cackles with her friends while exchanging books and even whirls around a broomstick once a week. Mom has to be a witch, and every good witch deserves a black cat who adores her and serves as her faithful sidekick. Created with a variety of media, including fabric, watercolor, and pen and ink, this masterly book has tiny, almost three-dimensional scenes that will leave readers lingering on each page to soak in all the details. The illustrations are bright and whimsical, filling the pages in perfect synergy with the text. Children will love the idea that their parent might have a top-secret, super-cool life. This charming title will be a hit year-round.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In Muncaster's tongue-in-cheek debut, a girl dressed in a head-to-toe cat costume explains how she knows her mother is actually a witch. For starters, she keeps "strange potion bottles in the bathroom that I am NOT allowed to touch," and "when her friends come over, they sit in a circle and cackle and swap spell books." The gentle "witch" in question has bouncy red curls, and Muncaster's illustrations-photographs of delicate miniature models with cut-out props made from cloth, paper, and other media-often reveal the truth behind the girl's statements; the "bubbling, hissing potions" cooking away in the kitchen look more like vegetable soup. Muncaster's miniatures create an alluring backdrop for this ode to creative, capable mothers and their adoring familiars... er, children. And the story doesn't shut the door to the possibility of real magic, either. Ages 4-8. Agent: Jodie Hodges, United Agents. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.