Juvenile Fiction (Ages 8 -12), Juvenile Literature (Ages 8-12), Reviews

Review: Villains Academy by Ryan Hammond

BentenShisho

Hammond, Ryan. (2024.) Villains Academy. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

*Downloadable activity sheets available at the end of this post!

This is the first of three (so far) books in this series and was recommended to me by a library kid, and I take those recommendations seriously.

It’s a younger chapter book about a school for kids learning to be villains. Lots of cute black and white illustrations and an engaging storyline.

It focuses on a young werewolf, Bram, who doesn’t feel like, or believe in himself as, a villain, at least not like his dads, and that makes him very self-conscious. Little does he know, others are just as worried about their “badness” and disappointing their parents.

He and his classmates are put into teams, and with how horribly his first couple of days have gone, with a teacher out for his expulsion and feeling like he can do nothing right, he’s really hoping his team can band together and be true friends.

The only problem is a young witch, Mona, who keeps her distance, and the fact that the rest of his team, the Weirdoughs, are keeping a secret from him and letting him shoulder the blame.

But after failures and foibles, both alone and as a team, they face a mysterious maze full of monsters and killer plants. They must emerge together and learn the secret that will allow them to get out before the other team. In the meantime, they will come to know each other better, and what it truly means to be good enough.

It’s a great story of friendship and feelings, finding your confidence and your purpose, standing up for yourself with elements of magic and mystery. It’s a great alternative for Harry Potter for younger readers. (I will continue to review alternatives for HP, but if you must read them, please do so by checking them out from your local library rather than funding hate by giving J.K. Rowling your money.)

Thanks for the recommendation, library kid!

Recommended Ages: 7-10

Activity Sheets:

Original Source: Villains Academy | Book by Ryan Hammond | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Villains Academy – Activity Sheets

Adult Literature, Adult Non-Fiction, Reviews

Review: Oh My Gourd!:How to Carve A Pumpkin Plus 29 Other Fun Halloween Activities by Jack Hallow

BentenShisho

Hallow, Jack. (2023). Oh My Gourd! How to Carve a Pumpkin Plus 29 Other Fun Halloween Activities. Smith Street Books.

The beginning of this book gives you basic instructions on how to carve a pumpkin. The back has a couple of cute stencils. But the best part is the humor with which the author gives you those instructions. For example:

Not often do you find instructions that tell you to behead, disembowel and vandalize your pumpkin, potentially with the face of an ex-lover or your favorite Abba tunes. HA!

Beyond that, there are some great recipes…what the book mostly consists of. I personally am planning on trying the pumpkin bread, pumpkin waffles (as soon as I find the cord for my waffle iron) and candied pumpkin. Though you might like the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Martini, (yes, this is marketed as an adult book), or pumpkin soup, which also sounded yummy!

There is also a pumpkin hummus recipe, but I recall a Kitchen Nightmare episode of Yanni’s Greek Restaurant, in our very own Seattle, where Gordon Ramsey was appalled at the idea of a pumpkin hummus. So, try it if you dare.

But there are also instructions for pumpkin led crafts, like this beautiful pumpkin floral centerpiece. (I’ve also used a pumpkin as a planter before. It’s beautiful!)

Also, a pumpkin hair mask.

A gourd water cask!! Just like some of my favorite animated/anime characters.

Also, this pretty and practical wildlife feeder, among many more! There’s also information on using them as compost, maracas, risotto, ravi pie, donuts, cupcakes, chips, etc. etc.

This is a pretty unassuming book at about 68 pages. It’s a little undersized but I really liked it! It packs a lot of information, yummy recipes and colorful photos into its midst. I can’t wait to try them.

Recommended Ages: Adult

Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: My Abuela Is A Bruja by Mayra Cuevas

BentenShisho

Cuevas, Mayra. (2025). My Abuela Is A Bruja. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

This little girl is positive that her grandmother is a bruja (a witch).

“There is magic in everything she does. What is her secret? I want to know!” She is an island bruja living in a house on a hill where “the sky meets the ocean.” They take advantage of the island’s river and waterfalls on hot days and on cool days, the animals lead them into the forest’s magical spaces and sing them lullabies.She wants to be a bruja like her grandma.

Her abuela is a garden bruja. She grows all of the best and most amazing plants in Puerto Rico, and teaches her granddaughter how to dig in the earth with her bare hands, sowing and planting.

There’s even magic when abuela let’s her water their seeds with the hose. Check out that rainbow and the rainbow colored birds in its spray!

Abuela is a dancing bruja, dancing to and playing music with her granddaughter, swaying to the beat. Abuela is a kitchen bruja, combining plants and ingredients into delicious, magical dishes like sofrito and sugary delicious, flan, eaten on the porch in the cool evening.

She feels abuela’s bruja magic when she tucks her in, lights the candle and “prays I’ll have good dreams.” With forehead kisses she imparts the same magic that the little girl dreams of.

“Mija, you already have your own magic. It grows strong from deep roots in our land, nurtured by all the brujas that came before and will come after.“ You can see and imagine their power, all the women who came before her.

And as she falls asleep she, the brujita or “the little witch,” knows in her heart “Abuela’s magic will always be with me.”

I included a lot more quotes from the book than I typically do, just because there was no better way to say it or share what the book was trying to convey. It is beautiful, with Lorena Alvarez Gomez’s stunning jewel-toned illustrations creating island magic all their own, and Mayra Cuevas sweet, loving adoration in word form. She’s very much talking about her own grandma (Abuela) in Puerto Rico and recalling the magic of their time together. And I 100% believe her Abuela is a bruja, because she made the most powerful magic every day, with love, nature and intuition passing it along to future generations.

You’ll also find Abuela’s recipes for Sofrito and Flan in the back with a Spanish glossary and man did it make me miss my grandmothers.

Perfecto.

Recommended Ages:3-7

LGBTQ+, Media, Television

Review: Coven Academy [Television]

BentenShisho

Coven Academy. Created by Tim Federle, Chorus Boy Productions, in association with Disney Kids & Family and Slavkin/Swimmer Productions, 2026.

When I turned on Disney+ to watch a Halloween type show or movie, I did not expect to see the advertisement for a new teen based witchy show. Nor did I expect the lead from “A Series of Unfortunate Events” (Malina Pauli Weissman) to lead it. NOR did I expect Tiffani Thiessen of “Saved by the Bell” fame from my childhood to be the lead grown-up. Holy wow, Batman. But once I watched the trailer, I was like…ok, let’s give it a shot. So far, I am glad that I did. I binged 11 chapter/episodes (our of 21) in one evening. Whoops.

Story starts with Briar, a girl from New York, whose Mom died, flying into New Orleans to go to a school called Crescent Veil. First, she is picked up from the airport by a British cutie vampire, except we don’t know he’s a vampire yet, who drops her off at the school. She meets with the principal, where she learns her mom went there too, because SUPRISE, it’s an academy for witches (And warlocks). She wants to bail, and find who killed her mom, but ends up staying, making friends, finding a “coven” or trio, learning magic, and magical history.

Meanwhile, she starts dating a vampire with a complicated existence…which just gets more complicated…deals with a dark magic, a coming apocalypse, a teacher who isn’t who they claim to be, trust issues, potentially losing one of their trio, then a different one, a shapeshifter, a dance, “the covening,” a love triangle and she and her friends start looking into who really killed her mom, as she realizes her mom was in New Orleans with her coven the night she died, even though her body was found on a subway platform in New York that same night.

Her principal and her teacher get kidnapped. Another one gets banished. Another disappears and all of this starts off with 3 girls from the school who never made it home one night and a warlock in training who is determined to find them. PHEW!!

But it is done REALLY well. It has a little bit of a teenage soap opera vibe, but mixed with a little Anne Rice. The only major content warning is moderate violence. Kids kiss in it. There is LGBTQ representation, which I am here for and it ends on a cliff hanger.

The episodes have been broken up into chapters, with each one running 15-23 minutes long, with a total of 21 chapters. That’s why it was so easy to binge watch it.I really hope they do another season.

Recommended Ages: Teen

Children's Literature (Ages Birth - 7), Picture Books/Easy Books (Ages 3 and up) (Fiction), Reviews

Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky by Jory John

BentenShisho

John, Jory. (2021). The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Mr. Seed is in a bad mood with a bad attitude. Halloween is his favorite holiday, but he just can’t find a costume good enough! The ones he has tried just won’t work out and he’s afraid of being underdressed.

In fact, he is so obsessed with the thought that everyone will out dress him that he is willing to take drastic measures.

He tells everyone that Halloween has been cancelled until tomorrow, due to a storm…and squirrels? He figures this will give him more time! Ha ha! He succeeded. Or did he?

Pumpkin seeds walks up to him and reminds him that it isn’t about the costumes. They don’t have to be fancy. They can be simple and still great, but it’s not even about that. It’s about celebrating autumn, and friends, and spending time together.

And suddenly, Mr. Seed isn’t so sure he has succeeded after all. He must fix his mistake! He gathers everyone together again and tells them, false alarm! Halloween is back on! Continue with the trick-or-treating. Everyone is so relieved. Mr. Seed goes back home and decides he’s going to take some paper bags and figre out his costume then go have fun! No squirrels here folks!

Or are there? 😉

Super cute. Happy for Mr. Seed. Another good title in this series, and excellent illustrations by Pete Oswald, as always.I love the message. It isn’t about the money, or the cost. It is about enjoying nature and each other. Don’t over complicate it.

Recommended Ages: 3-7