A simple chapter book for the early readers, especially fans of the How to Grow Magic picture books.
Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia
How to Grow Magic: The Giant Mystery is a chapter book, set in Welsh author Rachael Morrisroe’s world of magic. How to Grow a Unicorn, How to Grow a Dragon, How to Grow a Mermaid and How to Grow a Reindeer, where Mr Pottifer grows magical plants and creatures, are picture books that may be familiar to some young children. This short chapter book carries on from the original series, and what a great idea to add short novels to a picture book series. As children get older, they can continue reading about a world that they loved as preschoolers.
In this first instalment, Mr Pottifer, the Magical Gardening teacher at Enchantment Primary, begins his lesson teaching the children how to grow runner beans in time for sports day, but something seems to be wrong with the magic. Problems keep occurring, but when he moves on to how to grow magical beanstalks, things go terribly wrong when they discover mischievous garden gnomes have been ruining the spells. The last spell has resulted in a giant beanstalk … and we all know what lives at the top of a giant beanstalk!
The front cover is colourful and very appealing. A giant child holding a young girl in the palm of her hand. The young girl is holding a watering can and there is a tiny unicorn flying above her head. Around the edges we can see sections of a beanstalk, so there are lots of clues about where the story is heading.
Beginning with a rhyming poem by Mr Potifer, inviting us into Enchantment Street, How to Grow Magic is mostly simple to read. It will give young children a sense of achievement at finishing a chapter book. Some children, however, may find some of the words tricky to decipher, but the illustrations should help. Steven Lenton’s quite detailed illustrations in black, white, and green perfectly add to the story. Some of the facial expressions are hilarious.
The book has good spacing, easy to read font, with the occasional word in bold or larger font, 11 short chapters and a cream background for dyslexic readers to reduce the glare. All these help improve the reading experience for a young child. A quarter of the size of the average picture book, it is also easily held in small hands.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: July 2026
RRP: $16.99
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