The Wizards of Once

Wizards, Warriors, and Witches populate Cowell's rollicking tale, one in which capital letters indicate Importance and Emphasis (mostly tongue-in-cheek) and a plethora of energetic illustrations keeps the textual excitement high. In a fanciful medieval-like Britain, the invading magic-abhorring Warriors maintain a fierce feud with the indigenous Wizards; both are terrified of the villainous Witches. We first meet the thirteen-year-old Wizard Xar--a brash boy in the vein of Peter Pan or Mowgli--who, tired of waiting for his magic to come in on its own, takes off with his massive entourage of magical creatures to find a Witch who, he is certain, will give him what he needs. Within pages they encounter the introspective Wish, a similarly aged Warrior with a much smaller collection of companions. Having both struggled all their lives as disappointments to their parents and oddities in their communities, the two misfits reluctantly join forces to sort out a variety of Serious Issues involving those Witches, Magic, and More. While there are scary moments, the snarky and occasionally intrusive narrator as well as the spirited commentary in Cresswell's scratchy pen-and-ink drawings have everything briskly moving along so as to keep nightmares at bay. Middle-grade readers with a penchant for lighthearted fantasy are sure to enjoy this series opener and look forward to the next volume. monica edinger