What an absolutely delightful story about the power of kindness!

We loved this take on little witches, who are responsible for all the wickedest things like lost socks, lego underfoot, and bedtimes. The prose is light and easy to read and well dispersed amongst the illustrations.

The messages about kindness are cleverly woven through the story. I loved the little witch’s approach of teaching kindness through modeling, rather than preaching or dobbing.

The illustrations were vibrant and expressive (delightfully snarky at times). The facial expressions on the naughty witches were excellent!

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

A super fun book about the need for kindness!

The tale is about a witch who unlike the rest refuses to be mean, choosing always the kindest route regardless of how laughable that is to the other witches! Through fun little illustrations, easy vocabulary and a really easy to understand message this is a great read for really young audiences!

Not So Wicked Witch is a sweet and cute lesson on kindness, vanquishing mischief, promoting more friendship, helping others, less selfishness, less mean actions because kindness and friendship get the best rewards.
Awesome art, love the character design, and the design of the pages, someone makes me want to draw myself as a little witch and be their friend too.

Thank you, Publisher and Netgalley, for this e-arc.

This is a lovely story of a little witch who doesn’t like being wicked. The story has a good lesson for kids about being nice no matter what others think. The illustrations are super cute with a great diversity of characters represented.

Some of the pages seem a little jumbled and hard to follow but overall it’s a great story.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the chance to read and review this story.

Pros: This is an adorable tale of a little witch who wants to be kind, helpful, and thoughtful rather than wicked. I thought it was a great lesson in how we should treat others and what happens when we are kind (we make friends!). I thought the illustrations were cheerful, and I loved seeing children of many different appearances represented.

Cons: None that I can think of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a cute book to read with my four year old son. I enjoy reading stories with him were there are characters with differences that are celebrated. Books about kindness are special and I try to read them with my son often. The illustrations in this book are cute and engaging. A fun book to read in the fall.

This was such a cute little book. I always love a theme that being different and kind is something to be encouraged. I loved the silliness of sending this message through a nice witch (and who knew witches love marshmallows!). This would be a great Halloween read for kids.

Cute little story. My son love Halloween so he enjoyed it. I do wish we got to see more kindness from all the witches though!

#TheNotSoWickedWitch #NetGalley

Absolutely adorable! The drawings were so cute and colored beautifully, the storyline was defined early on (which was great) and the idea was executed well. I thought that the idea of witches being in love with marshmallows was different and it made the story really fun.
The only thing that tripped me up was one line that didn't make sense on page 8. One of the witches says to the littlest witch: "If you smile too much the wind might change and your face will stay happy and sunny FOREVER. How awful." I get the thought there, however I was confused as to what "the wind might change" could mean. Maybe I'm missing something, but I think that if it's confusing to me, it will likely be confusing for the intended audience as well.

Other than that, I very much enjoyed reading this book!

This was such a cute and fun read !! I loved it and I think that so many other kids will too. It makes for a great bedtime story or a classroom read. The illustrations were adorable and I’m impressed the author was the one to draw them. It has a great message that being good is better than being wicked. I would recommend to everyone and I’m thinking of purchasing a copy for myself.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I received an ARC of “The Not-So-Wicked Witch” by Bethan Stevens from NetGalley, Quarto Publishing, and Frances Lincoln Children's Books in exchange for an honest review.

This delightful picture book was written and illustrated by Bethan Stevens. Few have the ability to do both—writing for children and illustrating for them—but Stevens did a fantastic job. The author uses watercolors to illustrate this darling tale of a little witch who, unlike her playmate witches, is actually very sweet. Stevens shows children that it’s actually better to be sweet than devilish. This is a cute book that is written thoughtfully and expertly illustrated. Children (and adults!) are going to love reading this. I highly recommend!

This book is adorable! The illustrations are great! My nephew really enjoyed this book! It’s light, fun and recommend this book to be added to your October reads (or all year reads if you love witches as much as I do)

It has good representation in the illustrations of the book! My daughter now believes there are witches in our house making messes about. The storyline was great but I think it could have rolled off the tongue a tad better rather than dragging out! But overall we enjoyed the book as a family.

The book was about a little witch who did not want to be wicked like the other witches. My students like this book because it was fun but they wished it was longer. They liked that the wicked witches learned a lesson, but they wondered about the cats! They thought they should become nicer too. They thought having cats on the brooms was clever. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an adorable book. Cute illustrations, prose that flow, and a fun story with a good lesson. Definitely recommend!

The Not-So-Wicked Witch is an adorable story about a witch who is kind and helpful. The other, mischievous witches, decide they need to help her become more wicked. The witches try to get her to help make a sneaky potion to make kids sleep so they can steal all the marshmallows (because witches love marshmallows), but instead, she finds another way to fulfill their marshmallow craving.

This is a sweet story about the magic of kindness. The text rhymes well and is easy to understand. The illustrations are cute and colorful. This is a great story for any kids during spooky season and throughout the year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the advance copy.

3.5
I love the illustrations and the concept of the book. I did find it a little difficult to read. But overall, it was really cute and I enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the arc opportunity

Advanced book @netgalley kids book recap 📚✏️✂️📖🖌️🖍️

The Puzzle Piece by Andrea Mendoza (May 13) The most beautiful story in how to help children love themselves and be their most authentic self. I’m excited to read more of her books. Wonderful conversations to follow this with my kids!

Gathered at the Table by Glenn’s Nellist (Sept. 9) Using poems, it explains Jesus last supper and his time at the table. Such a profound, kid appropriate explanation of the communion.

Rosie’s Wild Ride by Paige Murray (Oct 7) Her completion doesn’t go quite as planned, but what if we keep going and ask “What if I can?” as we follow big dreams! I can’t wait to get this for my daughter. Loved the illustrations.

Night Magic by Leigh Ann Henson (Sept 23) This was SUCH a fun book of information. Why does it take so long for the eye to adjust to night? Lots of great information with this book and at a child’s level.

The Mountain and the Goat by Slamk Taghaddas (Sept 23) I loved the concept of teaching resourcefulness in this one. Loved the storyline.

Sea Dog Boats by Astrid Sheckels (Jan 14) To learn all about boats, let the dogs lead the way. All about the ABCs and nautical adventures this is a really cute story!

Twelve Days of Summer by Sherri Meret (July 1) “On the first day of summer…” The animals take you on a summer adventure as you sing along! My kids LOVED this adorable book.

Franklin’s Trees by AJ Skenkman (July 1) A story about young President Franklin. A history major myself, this was a really cute informative book.

Outdoor Skills for Kids by Buck Tilton (June 3) My son thought this book was the bees knees. He learned so much from it and kept talking about “when you approach an animal this is what to do..” He was so excited to share all he learned.

A Very Dinosaur Christmas by Adam Wallace (Sept 2) The giggles with this one! Dinosaurs at Christmas is silly.

Spooky Poems Aloud by Joseph Coelho

The Story of Dinosaurs by Catherine Barr

The Not So Wicked Witch by Bergen Steven’s

Pips Adventure by Ashling Lindsay

Paul the Peacock by Tilly Matthews

Happy Halloween Fiona by Zondervan

The Adventures of Cam E. Chameleon by Donna Herweck Rice

This is a cute little story that is fun to read out loud and will be fun to read to little ones, it teaches children how to be kind amidst the pressure to be naughty, and how to stick true to who they are and not give in if others around them are being mean. It's filled with fun illustrations and despite the theming of witches, the story isn't Halloween themed. I think this would be perfect for any home library with little hands or a classroom/nursery.

In a world full of wicked witches, one is different. She believes being nice is better than acting wicked, and wants to help others see this, also. The cat illustrations were great, as were the facial expressions.I like the use of bright colors and the diversity of children. Well done.