A charming and magical chapter book with adorable protagonist pups and incidental nonbinary inclusion.
Hocus and Pocus can’t seem to be adopted from the Shelter for Slightly Magical Pets, even though Hocus can see two minutes into the future and Pocus can turn bad feelings into bubbles (which he eats!) Perhaps this is because they keep making mischief to assure they get adopted together. One day, however, they see a frizzy-haired witch named Jinx demonstrate a “spell for home” potion to help a tortoise find a home, and they cleverly find a way to get taken to Jinx’s house! They cause magical mayhem, however, and embroil Jinx’s three apprentices (including one who uses they/them pronouns). Can they fix the mess they created? And will they finally find a home?
This tale is a breath of fresh air after too many chapter books with stiff dialog and/or weak plots. Author A. R. Capetta’s prose is simply delightful, right from the opening line that tells us, “Hocus and Pocus were born in October, when even the wind was full of mischief.” There’s a clear dramatic arc, nice characterizations, and an engaging world of magical realism. Illustrator Charlene Chua makes Hocus and Pocus absolutely adorable (and their human characters are pretty fun, too).
Additionally, all of the human characters introduce themselves with their pronouns as if this was the most natural thing in the world (which it should be). And while there’s only one clearly queer character here—Jinx’s apprentice Tam—Jinx herself gives me queer vibes. Maybe it’s her cargo overalls. This is the first book of a planned series, however, so perhaps we’ll learn more about how Jinx identifies (or meet other queer characters) in future volumes. Regardless, this is a highly recommended title.
