A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich (The Weird Sisters #3)

Gr 1-3--The people of Covenly have gathered for the annual Fall Fair, an event that will be attended this year by the small town's newest residents: sister-witches Yuckmina, Hildeglurp, and Glubbifer. The unusual trio has yet to find universal acceptance in Covenly but they have discovered a kindred, steadying spirit in young Jessica Nibley, who recognizes that the sisters occasionally require "guidance in using their magic appropriately." It is Jessica who accompanies her new friends in their search for a missing frog, cat, and a chicken named Ruth Bader Ginsbuck. The book's copious wordplay is a sly way to familiarize readers with homonyms. While the occasional Shakespeare allusion (beginning with the title, a reference to Macbeth's witches) won't mean much to the target audience, they might elicit a chuckle from adults using this for a read-aloud. Rust's big, lively black-and-white illustrations are casually diverse (a police officer wearing a hijab, the town's mayor using a wheelchair) and help signal that this chapter book is still accessible to readers just beginning their transition to more complex fare. There is more action than mystery here, with each short chapter moving briskly toward a happy ending. This is the third installment in the series, but one need not have been a fan of the first two books to appreciate this autumnal romp. VERDICT A witchy series book that can easily be enjoyed as a standalone.--Kate Newcombe