The Witch in the Tower
A coming-of-age fantasy epic for children aged 5-9, named one of The Times' best children's books of 2025!
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Hardback
64 pages
978-1-5295-0292-3 (ISBN)
Description
Named one of The Times' best children's books of 2025: "An extraordinary book [...] the artwork is sublime."
"The result is singular, not merely a modern classic but one for the ages. Utterly spellbinding." - Kirkus Reviews
- A coming-of-age fantasy epic from from Gothic picture book queen, Julia Sarda.
- The sequel to The Queen in the Cave, longlisted for The Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
- A perfect gift for any picture book fan; will empower and inspire young readers aged 5-9 to embrace their true selves and find friends who love and understand them.
In this second spell-binding title in The Three Sisters trilogy, we follow middle sister Carmela on a truly wild and wondrous soul-shaping adventure where she meets a mysterious witch and discovers the magic and power within herself...
Meet Carmela...
Carmela's older sister, Franca, has stopped playing with her. Feeling left out and left behind by her big sister, Carmella walks until she can't walk anymore and then ... she walks a little further. Somehow, she ends up at a tower she's never noticed before and she knows right away that she's met a witch; a witch who has, in fact ... been waiting for her.
Meet The Witch...
The Witch welcomes Carmela into a magical world far beyond the limits of her imagination - a place filled with cauldrons, spells, potions, flying toads and frogs. Carmela visits libraries teeming with ancient books; rooms where worms and spiders weave intricate dresses; a spectacular dome of crystal prisms and, finally, at the very top of the tower - Carmela gets her very own broomstick. She takes flight - her worries shrinking, her mind expanding and Carmela discovers a power within herself - to see beyond the hurt and pain of growing up, to find her own place in the world.
"A wild rumpus of sorts and a love letter to the outcasts, 'the lonely, the lost, and the different ones' - and that is a beautiful, empowering thing." - Booklist (starred review)
Praise for The Queen in the Cave:
"supremely exciting [...] An unforgettable story that will leave readers with their eyes wide open." - Booklist (Starred review)
"The result is singular, not merely a modern classic but one for the ages. Utterly spellbinding." - Kirkus Reviews
- A coming-of-age fantasy epic from from Gothic picture book queen, Julia Sarda.
- The sequel to The Queen in the Cave, longlisted for The Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
- A perfect gift for any picture book fan; will empower and inspire young readers aged 5-9 to embrace their true selves and find friends who love and understand them.
In this second spell-binding title in The Three Sisters trilogy, we follow middle sister Carmela on a truly wild and wondrous soul-shaping adventure where she meets a mysterious witch and discovers the magic and power within herself...
Meet Carmela...
Carmela's older sister, Franca, has stopped playing with her. Feeling left out and left behind by her big sister, Carmella walks until she can't walk anymore and then ... she walks a little further. Somehow, she ends up at a tower she's never noticed before and she knows right away that she's met a witch; a witch who has, in fact ... been waiting for her.
Meet The Witch...
The Witch welcomes Carmela into a magical world far beyond the limits of her imagination - a place filled with cauldrons, spells, potions, flying toads and frogs. Carmela visits libraries teeming with ancient books; rooms where worms and spiders weave intricate dresses; a spectacular dome of crystal prisms and, finally, at the very top of the tower - Carmela gets her very own broomstick. She takes flight - her worries shrinking, her mind expanding and Carmela discovers a power within herself - to see beyond the hurt and pain of growing up, to find her own place in the world.
"A wild rumpus of sorts and a love letter to the outcasts, 'the lonely, the lost, and the different ones' - and that is a beautiful, empowering thing." - Booklist (starred review)
Praise for The Queen in the Cave:
"supremely exciting [...] An unforgettable story that will leave readers with their eyes wide open." - Booklist (Starred review)
Reviews / Votes
There is something of the spirit of Maurice Sendak in the rhythm of the story, which is just the right side of hallucinatory. The details are a treat. From the bathroom thick with plants and slime to the panopticon full of books and the crystal prisms scattering rainbows across the potion room, the artwork is sublime. Yes, there are spiders and broomsticks, but this is a book for life, not just Halloween. -- Lucy Bannerman * The Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Walker Books Ltd
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 5 to 8 years
Dimensions
Height: 252 mm
Width: 194 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
430 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5295-0292-3 (9781529502923)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Julia Sarda is a Spanish artist who has illustrated many books for children, including Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, The Liszts by Kyo Maclear. She has illustrated The Wolf's Secret by Nicolas Digard and Myriam Dahman, which won Foyles Children's Book of the Year 2020. Her work has been published around the world in many languages. The Queen in the Cave was her debut to the Walker Books list and the first book she has both written and illustrated. It was longlisted for a Yoto Carnegie Award for Illustration 2023. She lives in Barcelona. You can find her on Instagram @juliasardaportabella.