THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEING A WIZARD

A tongue-in-cheek introduction to sorcery.

“So you want to be a wizard. EXCELLENT CHOICE. The first thing you should know is wizards come in all shapes and sizes.” This winking primer, presented by a highly opinionated omniscient narrator, familiarizes readers with the basics. There are chapters on wizard tools (“Next, you’ll need a wand. A wand is just a stick that feels good about itself”), familiars (“A familiar is a magical animal that doesn’t judge you when you mess up”), and rules, including etiquette—e.g., “If you accidentally turn the moon into a pie, you must share (no hoarding space pie!).” Making the rounds throughout the guide is a prototypical wizard (see the “Wizard at a Glance” diagram serving as the book’s endpapers) with a pointy hat and a long white beard (though our narrator notes, “You do not need to be tall or have a beard”) and a little wand-waving wizard wannabe, both of whom are pale-skinned; the book’s supporting players are diverse, racially and otherwise. All the straight-faced silliness is enhanced by mixed-media art that often depicts the sudden onset of supernatural events (“Don’t try ‘Summon Baby Dragon’ until you can handle Momma Dragon”). Wizard enthusiasts of all ages will be tickled.

Pure magic for the wizard-curious.