The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso (review)

In the opening pages of this graphic-novel-styled easy reader, young witch Salem Hyde accidentally turns a crossing guard into a dinosaur, unleashing terror at her school and almost blowing her cover as a normal (albeit mischievous) girl. The incident spurs her grandmother to get Salem an animal companion to guide the young girl’s budding magical powers and keep her propensity for troublemaking in check. Percival J. Whamsford III, aka Whammy, shows up for the job, and while the smart-aleck cat isn’t the unicorn Salem requested, he still manages to save the day when Salem’s spellcasting yet again goes awry at her school’s annual spelling bee. Cammuso evokes both the sarcastic spunk and gentle warmth of Calvin and Hobbes in this humorous tale of unlikely pals, and the simple black and white illustrations reaffirm the parallel with their wide-eyed, big-headed figures and frantic energy. A few of the jokes may fly over the heads of young readers (a play on Moby-Dick is more likely to get chuckles from adults than developing readers), but the sequential paneling and spare dialogue in word bubbles offer a solid framework for young readers just discovering the graphic format.