Hocus Focus by James Sturm - ADVISABLE

Sturm, James, et al.   Hocus Focus  Unpaged. First Second (Roaring Brook Press), 2017. $14.99. GRAPHIC NOVEL

A little knight wants to try doing magic with the wizard's wand, but the wizard wants him to peel turnips for a magic potion instead. Simple stuff first, he says, like patience. But when the wizard uses his magic wand to transport instantly away, the knight is more determined than ever to find one himself. He, with his trusted steed Edward, sneaks into the wizard's inner sanctum, and finds just what he wants. He takes a transformation spell book and a magic wand, but instead of following the spell's directions, he takes shortcuts which lead to disastrous results. He accidentally combines Edward and a worm into a monstrous Edwormy creature that wants to eat everything, including him. With a Phoenix's help to fly to safety, and the wizard's help using the magic wand, along with his own clever idea, all is put right again, though the lessons on patience and learning the basics first may have been lost on him. 

This is a cute graphic novel for young readers from the creators of Adventures in Cartooning. The endpapers have the additional bonus of how to draw the knight, the horse Edward, and various combined creatures, like Edwormy. The endpapers and the part of the story when the knight is following the spell's directions could be used as examples of a how-to sequence for a classroom lesson. 

EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE. Reviewed by P. K. Foster, teacher-librarian