Hello, my friends!

It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and it’s officially fall, so you know what that means, right?

It means we can share Halloween books! YAY! And boy do I have a fun one for you!

AND there is a giveaway, so one of you lucky folks is going to be able to read this book soon! Author Nathan Christopher is kindly offering a signed copy to one lucky winner, and all you have to do to put yourself in the running to be the randomly selected winner is leave a comment on today’s post by Thursday October 1st at 3 PM Eastern!

Ready to check it out?

Title: When The Witch Wrote Back

Written By: Nathan Christopher

Illustrated By: Pablo Pino

ISBN#: 978-1464225314

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland, July 28, 2026, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: Halloween, magic, consequences, humor

text copyright Nathan Christopher 2026, illustration copyright Pablo Pino 2026, Sourcebooks Wonderland

Opening:

“Hi new neighbor,

This is amazing — a witch on my street!
Are lizards or insects your favorite to eat?
I’d love if you’d teach me your magical ways!
My big Halloween party’s coming in days —
it’s WAY too much work to get ready so fast.
There must be a room-cleaning spell I can cast
or potion for parties that’s easy to make.
Be sure to write back!
From your biggest fan,
Jake”

text copyright Nathan Christopher 2026, illustration copyright Pablo Pino 2026, Sourcebooks Wonderland

Brief Synopsis: When Jake gets a new neighbor, he’s pretty sure he knows what kind of person arrives with a cauldron, a broomstick, and a black cat… But that could come in handy! Maybe the witch will have a spell to help him get everything ready for his Halloween party! A series of letters go back and forth between them. Will Jake get the help he needs, or will the witch teach him a lesson about shortcuts?

text copyright Nathan Christopher 2026, illustration copyright Pablo Pino 2026, Sourcebooks Wonderland

Links To Resources: An activity kit that Sourcebooks made: https://www.hellonathan.ca/downloads/When-the-Witch-Wrote-Back—Activity-Kit.pdf lets kids practice writing a letter, and has a fun party planning exercise and a coloring page.

text copyright Nathan Christopher 2026, illustration copyright Pablo Pino 2026, Sourcebooks Wonderland

text copyright Nathan Christopher 2026, illustration copyright Pablo Pino 2026, Sourcebooks Wonderland

Why I Like This Book: Okay. Where to even begin with how much I love this book? SO MUCH FUN! Written in epistolary format, with every letter in delightful-to-read-aloud rhyme (and that is not easy to do in letters!) Jake sends letters back and forth with his new neighbor who he is quite sure is a witch. He’s looking for the easy way out of all the hard work he’ll have to do to get ready for his Halloween Party — magic is the answer, obviously! The witch warns him he’d be better off just doing the work, but does Jake listen? What do you think? 😊 One disaster follows another as Jake tries to do magic without actually reading all of the directions or following them carefully (more corner cutting — oh, Jake!) until everything is such a mess that he’s in danger of having to cancel his party. There’s only one thing to do. I’m sure you can guess what it is 😊 A super fun, humorous, terrifically Halloween-y story about the consequences of being lazy, and being careful what you wish for, with a spooktacular ending. The art is colorful and energetic, filled with fun details to look for and absorb (like the witch’s to-do list) and is a perfect match for the story. And there is back matter with tips for a “Happy Haunted Halloween”. A title every kid will want on their bookshelf! (It also says it’s one of a series, so I’m looking forward to more!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊 And remember, your comment on today’s post by Thursday October 1st at 3 PM Eastern puts you in the running to be the randomly selected winner of a signed copy of WHEN THE WITCH WROTE BACK! Thank you, Nathan!

Nathan Christopher believes laughter is one of life’s greatest gifts (ranked somewhere below unconditional love and a notch above cold pizza).

Nathan is the author of the When They Wrote Back! series of humorous holiday picture books, of which two are out with more are forthcoming. He also has a standalone picture book illustrated by Tommy Doyle, due from Sourcebooks Wonderland on June 1, 2027.

Nathan writes in the attic of his century-old home in Windsor, Ontario—just across the river from Detroit—sharing life’s ups and downs with his wife and ever-active children, who ensure endless material and a conveniently sleepless schedule for writing.

You can follow along through his newsletter, or on Instagram, Bluesky, and X.