The Witch in the Tower [Hardcover]

"Not merely a modern classic but one for the ages. . . . Utterly spellbinding." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Gorgeous illustrations are the star of this fantastical adventure about hidden magic, growing up, and braving the unknown to find yourself.

Everything is changing for Carmela. Her older sister, Franca, has new, mean friends, and Carmela is feeling lost and lonely. So she decides to go for a walk—to walk until she can’t anymore, then walk a bit more. Her walking takes her to a strange tower, and what she finds there will transform her life forever. In this companion to The Queen in the Cave, her authorial debut, renowned illustrator Júlia Sardà ventures into a mesmerizing world where mermaid grease washes away envy, a giant’s hair helps you face bullies, a circular library holds all your secrets, and a dome of crystal prisms opens a view to the cosmos. Dreamlike and filled with whimsy, the artist’s kaleidoscopic patterns, decorative borders, glowing colors, and layered, elaborately detailed imagery will bewitch young readers as readily as the title character does Carmela—and beckon them to return for many a visit.Sardà’s intricate artwork reflects Carmela’s inner journey as much as her outer one, truly letting loose as Carmela gleefully unlocks her own free-spirited magic. A wild rumpus of sorts and a love letter to the outcasts, “the lonely, the lost, and the different ones”—and that is a beautiful, empowering thing.
—Booklist (starred review)

With the second installment in her Three Sisters trilogy, Sardà has struck gold. Both narrative and aesthetic ooze style, coolly occupying the intersection between cautionary folktale and coming-oflã.