Stowell, Louie. Monster in the Lake, The. Davide Ortu, Illus. Kit the Wizard Book, A; bk. 2. Walker, 02/2022. 197pp. Fiction. GRADES 3-6. $17.99. 978-1-5362-1494-9. ADDITIONAL.
Kit is a novice wizard, and she and her non-wizard friends Josh and Alita travel to a Scottish loch and its mermaids to determine why some strange magical occurrences are happening in their neighborhood. For example, Kit can hear and understand animals who talk, and their dog/dragon pet is ill. This sequel to The Dragon in the Library refers to incidents from the first book but doesn’t really explain them, limiting this to readers of that first book. The grayscale illustrations that appear every few pages indicate Kit is white but Josh appears to be Black, and Alita has brown skin and long black hair. Faith, Kit’s wizarding mentor and librarian, is also Black. Although this is a solid transitional fantasy novel, it is not innovative nor particularly original. Published in the UK in 2019, this is the first U.S. edition.
Penny Peck—San Jose State University iSchool