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.
As soon as I saw the combination of magic, consequences, & humor, I smiled. The rhyming is especially cute. Thanks for sharing the contest! 🙂
I’m glad you like the look of Nathan’s book, Art. It’s a really fun read-aloud!
So much fun! Congratulations!
Fun is the word, Jodie! This is one you can read again and again.
What a fun way to incorporate rhyme and the epistolary format! Love it!
I know, Kim. Wasn’t that brilliant? It works so well.
This looks hysterical! And I love that it’s written in rhyming letters! What fun!
Such a great idea, Patricia! It’s an entertaining story and very fun to read aloud.
This is charming! I’ve put in an order request from my library and can’t wait to read it!!
So kind of you, Judy! That is so helpful for authors and illustrators!
This book is an invitation to fun. Love the letter writing and illustrations. Is the witch a family member? Ooooh! 💋👍
You’ll have to read it to find out, Robin! 🙂
OH, my! This book is right up my haunted alley! I would fly over the moon to win this book 🙂 Thaks so much for sharing it! I can’t wait to read it. Lynne Marie
A good companion to your BroomMates! 🙂
I can already tell this book is going to make me laugh. The letter format is fun and I’m excited to read it. I can already imagine the conversations I will have reading this out loud to my nieces and nephews.
They will love it, Danielle! 🙂
Congratulations, Nathan on all your When___Wrote Back. They are hilarious! I heard you read this one on Picture Books, Eh! and immediately wanted to share it with my granddaughter when she’s a tad older.
I bet it was really fun to hear Nathan read it, Marie! 🙂
This looks fun! I really enjoy stories told this way. Congratulations!!
Me, too, Angie! When they’re done well, they’re so much fun. If you haven’t read I WANNA IGUANA by Karen Orloff, that’s another great one written this way!
This is an absolute treat to read and see (not tricks about it!) You have a new fan Mr. Christopher! Thanks for bringing this fun holiday book to us Susanna!!
My pleasure, Kelly! I hope you get to read it! And I’m planning on checking out the others in the series because I liked this one so much.
This book looks amazing! Can’t wait to read it.
It’s tons of fun, Sarah 🙂
That’s adorable! Love the letter writing going back and forth. Pretty much a lost art I would love to visit with my grandkids! And the rhyming is so spot on!
I agree about letter writing being a lost art! I hope books like this will encourage kids to give it a try. The mail isn’t fun anymore because it’s all recycling. We need more letters! Especially if they’re rhyming… and from a witch… 🙂
I love this book! It’s so much fun! Actually, the entire series is a real hoot!!
Now that I’ve read this one, I’m really looking forward to reading the others, Jilanne!
Exchanging letters written in rhyme with the new witch next door–what a fun concept to bring to a Halloween PB story! Add in keen observations, opportune negotiations and humorous consequences for a memorable story with some good kid-friendly messages. Looking forward to reading this one with my astute, little 5-yr-old neighbor–and laughing along with her.
I think you’re both going to love it, Lucretia! I thought it was really fun!
I love the rhyming and the concept. Bravo!
It was a stroke of genius to do the letter writing format and have the letters in rhyme, Sandra, wasn’t it? Makes a fun story even more fun!
What a brilliant way to create a children’s book! Sounds so enticing. I can’t wait to read this with my granddaughter.
Me, too, Patricia! I know she’s going to love it! I hope your granddaughter does, too!
This looks like such a great book. Seems we were both on the Halloween ‘wave length’ this week. Can’t wait to get a hold of this one. Thanks so much for featuring it.
I find that once fall hits the air it’s hard not to jump into Halloween books 🙂
Thanks for sharing this “magical Halloweensie” tale! Can’t wait to read this PB! 🧙
I think you will love it, Susan 🙂
Epistolary plus rhymes sounds like doing a writer’s sudoku. Congratulations Mr. Christopher! I still send snail mail and I hope kids pick up their pencils and write “real” letters too.
My grandkids are not quite at the writing stage yet, Wendy, but I already send them things in the mail, and I hope as they grow that they will write real cards and letters, too. It’s so much nicer than email or texts! (Although honestly, I will be happy for any contact I get 🙂 )
I write letters to my grandkids, and I love the idea of writing them in rhyme! Thanks for the inspiration and congrats on a fun Halloween story!
You would be great at that Deborah! You write rhyme so well!
This book looks too fun! Just placed a hold for it at my library. Can’t wait to read it! Thanks for the post to bring it to my attention!
It is very fun, Ryann! I hope you like it as much as I do!
Such a cute book idea. The teasers you shared definitely make me want to pick it up and read it with my boys.
I think you’ll all like it, Jessica. It’s very fun! 🙂
What a fun book to kick off the month of October. Clever idea with enviable series potential. Congrats to Nathan! Definitely one I’m looking forward to reading.
I think you will love it, Marty! 🙂