Book One: Spelling Trouble

Starred review from September 23, 2013
Salem Hyde is brash, outspoken, and has a pair of pigtails that resemble bat wings. She’s also a witch, and she needs help keeping her powers under control. Enter Percival J. Whamsford III (aka Whammy), a magical cat Salem’s family hires for that very purpose. Never mind that she would’ve preferred a unicorn: “A witch and a cat?” she grouses. “That’s so unoriginal!” Illustrated in energetic green-and-black cartoons packed with physical comedy, Cammuso’s (Otto’s Backwards Day) odd-couple story reads like a salute to the comic strips of yesteryear, with plenty of punning and deadpan deliveries; he even sneaks in a few references to Star Trek and The Simpsons. Along with the ongoing clashes between headstrong Salem and persnickety Whammy, the plot concerns Salem’s quest for success in an upcoming spelling bee, while outsmarting a teacher who has it out for her. In one of many funny moments, Whammy tries to sanitize the story of Moby-Dick for an impressionable Salem (“Did I say harpoons? I meant... balloons”). It’s just about the perfect story for comics-loving fathers to read with their comics-loving daughters. Ages 7–9. (Oct.)■

Starred review from September 1, 2013
A fledgling witch receives necessary guidance from a talking cat in this utterly adorable page-turner. Plucky, pigtailed and bespectacled Salem Hyde just wants a friend. After a misguided attempt to use her magic lands her in the principal's office, Salem's family decides she needs an animal companion. One well-placed call later, she meets knowledgeable and talkative feline Percival J. Whamsford III, otherwise known as Whammy. Whammy isn't just a chatty kitty; he is a Magical Animal Companion and will help Salem learn how to use her magic properly. However, the two get off to a rocky start (Salem had wanted a unicorn, not a cat), despite Whammy's best efforts. When Salem casts a big blunder of a spell at her school's spelling bee, Whammy arrives in the nick of time to help her and prove his friendship. Cammuso's jokes are laugh-out-loud funny, with one of the most memorable bits borrowed from Abbott and Costello's iconic "Who's on First" routine. Simply drawn, wide-eyed characters populate Cammuso's genial tale, lending it a Sunday-morning-comics feel and a gentle nostalgia that conjures visions of Calvin and Hobbes meeting a young Samantha Stephens. A delightful buddy story and an auspicious series opener; be sure to make room on shelves for Salem and Whammy. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)

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January 1, 2014

Gr 2-5-It's hard enough navigating elementary school, but for Salem Hyde she has to do so while keeping her magical skills in check in Cammuso's (Knights of the Lunch Table, 2008) charming new graphic novel series. After Salem confuses the upcoming spelling contest with spell casting and accidentally turns the crossing guard, Mrs. Fossil, into a dinosaur, her non-magical parents enlist the help of a magical companion to assist Salem. Percival J. Whamsford III, or "Whammy" as Salem likes to call him, is a cat who has 800 years' experience teaching young witches to use their powers. Salem's impulsive antics (flying a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom and having a whale materialize in the gymnasium when "wail" is misspelled during the contest) frustrate Whammy, but ultimately the two come together to make things right and form a strong friendship. Cammuso's play on words are simple enough for new readers to understand and sophisticated enough to entertain those with more advanced skills. A memorable scene about a "WHAT Witch" test that is reminiscent of Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First" routine. The characters are drawn with big smiles and wide eyes, invoking classic comic imagery, while the mostly black-and-white illustrations are infused with shades of pale green. Fans who like their Sunday cartoons with longer plots and hysterical antics will clamor for the next adventure in this creative series. Move over Babymouse-there's a clever new character in the graphic novel section.-Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2013
Grades 3-5 Young witch Salem Hyde wants to win the spelling bee and be crowned the spelling queen, but when she accidentally turns the school's crossing guard into a dinosaur, she know she needs help with her spells (and, coincidentally, her spelling). Enter Percival J. Whamsford III, a cat who has helped many witches over the past 800 years, and he still has five lives left. But Salem is a challenge: she flies on a vacuum cleaner, she's impatient and impulsive, and she gets her spells just wrong enough to cause big havoc. For instance, when Salem casts a spell to win the school spelling bee, misspelled words come to life, turning the teacher whose constant lecturing made him a bore into a garbage-munching boar. Can Whammy help Salem put things back to normal before Mr. Fink gets her expelled? And can Salem learn to be a great witch after all? Young readers will eat up Cammuso's (Otto's Orange Day, 2008) action-packed panels, full of cartoonish antics, silly puns, and playful slapstick humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)