Hocus Pocus Practice Focus

This is a wonderful book about a school age girl who falls in love with magic after having a female magician perform at her birthday party. The library comes to the rescue and, I must tell you, that is the best list of magic books from a library I have ever seen! The author is magic knowledgeable and has professional magicians in her family, and her knowledge shows. The book is wonderfully written and illustrated and the story is good. David Copperfield writes the introduction. The book is suitable for all young readers, female and male alike. Me? I'm a 70 year old magic hobbyist, I loved the book. Really a fine read.

I love this children’s book! Everyone needs a little magic in their lives. I loved the diversity and representation and I loved the illustrations. They’re so beautiful and captivating. This would be a perfect addition to any child’s library.

Hocus Pocus Practice Focus is an amazing book about a young girl named Mila who has just discovered her love for magic. Mila is amazed by the magician at her birthday party and she decides she wants to become a magician just like him. However, magic is trickier than Mila thought and she has a lot to learn if she wants to make her dream a reality. Just when Mila is about to give up, she discovers the magic secret in an unexpected place and person.

This book is beautifully written and the illustrations are absolutely stunning. The characters are wonderfully diverse and I absolutely loved reading about Mila's journey to become a magician. This book is perfect for any child who loves magic and it will definitely leave them with a sense of hope and wonder. Hocus Pocus Practice Focus is an absolute must-read for all children and their parents!

I love this I read this to my niece who also loves magic and she enjoyed this so much. This was so easy to get through the story even entertained me the adult. The illustration was so cute I love the diversity. I would recommend this book to friends with kids.

Thank you to the author, publishers and netgalley for my review copy of this children's book.

After Mila is visited by a magician on her birthday she decides that's what she wants to be and sets out to dazzle her friends with tricks. But none of them seem to work anything like Greta the Greats did at her birthday party. What is Mila doing wrong?

This was a fun read with the message that practise makes perfect. If you have a dream, then keep fighting for it and eventually you will achieve what you want. I think this is a good one for anyone who likes magic, or who had a childhood dream of being a magician themselves.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this ARC. #netgalley #hocuspocuspracticefocus

This was a cute story about a girl who wants to learn magic tricks and she learns to trial and error the process of that. Beautiful bright colors of illustrations. It had a good rhythm to the story wasn't too long wasn't too short.

Hocus Pocus Practice Focus by Amy Kimlat|| Book Review

When I saw this book in the Read Now section of NetGalley I knew that I was going to review it. Magic is one of those things that has always interested me because it was a puzzle that seemed impossible to figure out. I love all books but I was excited for this one because it seemed like a really creative way to teach the lesson of perseverance.

Kids can Be Magicians Too!
This was a really cute children’s book about a young girl who decides to learn magic after a magician performs a magic show at her birthday party. She learns that magicians have to work hard and practice a lot in order to possess the skills that they have.
The illustrations in this book by Srinidhi Srinivasan were adorable and I really enjoyed the choices of color through out the novel. Also, the illustrations do cool things with the text instead of just working with normal blocks of text.
David Copperfield, yes the famous magician, has a wonderful foreword before the story begins. He mentions a really good point about how magic is for everyone; and he mentions about how he deliberately researches female magicians so that he can show his daughters positive role models ( also I didn’t know that he had a museum and now I really want to visit).
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for positive and persistent female characters, and I believe that kids will enjoy the fun colors and creative magic effects as much as I did. Thank You, NetGalley for providing me with an early review copy.

Hocus Pocus Practice Focus is about a little girl who wishes to become a magician. She quickly learns that to be successful in any endeavors, you need to practise a lot and also know when to ask for help. An inspiring story for anyone nurturing hopes and aspirations.

This is such a wonderful book for kids who love magic. The foreword by David Copperfield, famous Magician, sets the tone for the rest of the book. The author’s note at the end solidifies the intent. The book is aimed at girls who want to become magicians. Of course, boys can read it too, but the focus is on girls (the foreword explains why).
The illustrations are a delight! The detailing of a family home, a child’s messy bedroom, diverse characters, and the color scheme make the book lively and attractive. I love Greta the Great’s representation.
The content comes in rhymed verses. I did find a couple of them odd in the beginning. Once I got into the story, I didn’t even think of rhymes. The book shows what you need to become a magician- passion, patience, and practice. There’s a small magic trick at the end (along with tips) for young readers to try. There’s a note for parents too. After all, kids look to adults for support and encouragement to achieve their dreams.
To summarize, Hocus Pocus Practice Focus is for kids and adults who want to enter the world of magic. I haven’t read any children’s book on this topic, and this one felt like it hit the right notes from start to finish.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Mila wants nothing more than to be a magician. Inspired by the one at her birthday party, Mila thinks it is easy, but quickly learns that real magicians only make it look easy. Lots and lots of practice goes into making it seem simple and effortless. Mila gets frustrated that it is taking her longer than expected to learn and that she doesn't pick it up right away. It isn't as simple as snapping her fingers and saying abracadabra.

This is an excellent story about managing frustrations, persevering through challenges when learning something new and having patience with yourself. It is great for boys and girls but I thought it was especially wonderful that the main character was a girl. It teaches children that you can do anything you dream of, if you are willing to but in the hard work and effort it takes to master the skill.

A delightful rhyming story, this a book about persistence and following your dreams and that is when the real magic happens.

This story was both entertaining and educational, which can be a tricky balance to maintain in a children’s book, and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Incorporating social-emotional skills and topics such as this into children's picture books is a tried and true way to teach an important life skill in a way that is fun. This would be an amazing addition for classroom libraries, counselling offices and more.

I absolutely loved this book! The pictures were vibrant, the prose was witty and I loved the rhyming aspects. The story line chronicles the evolution of the main character Mila, and how through practice and dedication, she was able to achieve her goal. I also like the character of Greta and the great and how she helps Mila in her journey. This book is designed for a broad range of ages, from two to ten, and I feel that there are aspects of the story that any age group, including adults can appreciate regarding tenacity and dedication. A truly magnificent book highly recommended for public, preschool, and elementary school libraries and for your personal collection.
Laura S.

📕 REVIEW 📕

5/5 ⭐️

This book was SO cute! I read it to my 4 year old who immediately turned into a magician afterward. She was giggling thru the story and was very intrigued. It was a very unique take on perseverance and “practice for progress”. I will definitely be getting the physical copy for her bookshelf in October!

Out October 25, 2022.

Thank you to @netgalley and @booksgosocialgroup for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I gave this book to my 8 year old to read and she now wants to be a magician!

She really enjoyed the story. However, the step by step instructions for doing your own magic trick at the end of the story sealed the deal. She amazed her younger sisters.

The words from David Copperfield at the beginning were inspiring for a young girl.

The illustrations and words were a great combination.

I highly recommend this book for kids, especially girls wanting to enter this male dominated world of magic.

This is such a cute book!! My 4.5 year old absolutely loved seeing a girl main character as she practiced and learned the secrets and tricks of magic. I loved the rhymes and it flowed really well as we read it together. Highly recommend reading this one with kids!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. This is such a cute motivational read for younger audiences in fact im defiantly going to try and get my younger cousin a copy. The story follows Mila who is inspired by the magician who comes to her own birthday party so she decides to learn some of her own and try and become a magician which doesn’t exactly go to plan. However she never gives up and keeps trying and by the end successfully does her own magic show at her party the next year. The magic tricks at the back are also brilliant. Worth a read

A cute children’s storybook focussing on an unusual hobby – magic!

When a woman magician who goes by ‘Greta the Great’ astounds Mila at her birthday party, Mila decides that she too wants to be a magician. After all, how hard can it be? Mila soon realisis that while the tricks seemed easy, they are absolutely difficult to replicate. Justas she is about to give up hope, a special person reenters her life. You know who it is!

I read the whole content with a big grin on my face throughout. There are so many things to love about this adorable story. It focusses on a career/hobby that rarely gets attention. It has a loveable protagonist who learns from her mistakes and isn’t afraid to try and try again. It emphasises the value of the 3 Ps – passion, perseverance and practice: all crucial ingredients for success in any field.

The story is written in rhyming prose. The rhymes are very simplistic but they do work well for the story. The vocabulary level is also apt for the target age group of 3-8 years.

I enjoyed the foreword by renowned magician David Copperfield foreword. He rightly says, “We see examples of strong magical women throughout our literary history - from snow queens to fairy godmothers. So why has magic, as a professional field, been so dominated by men?”

There are some simple magic tricks listed out at the end –the perfect bonus content for this story.

The illustrations are adorable. Coloured in vibrant pastels, each sketch depicts the action on the page beautifully.

I hope that this beautiful book inspires more little girls to consider magic as a possible option for them. It is the perfect combination of learning and fun. A stellar debut by an indie author who has transposed her own experience as a former kid magician excellently into this story.

4.5 stars.

My thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the DRC of “Hocus Pocus Practice Focus: The Making of a Magician”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

A super cute children's book! Cute for kids who love magic!

I must mention how impressed I was with the foreword especially in a children's book aimed mostly at little girls but either gender could read obviously, I found it to be a strong and captivating message and I loved that it implied not just magician's being men and lacking women but it made the kids discuss lots of other jobs that they thought were exclusively for just men, so I really thought that was important!

I loved the emphasis of the 3p's - practice, persevere and passion especially important for children these days I think especially as they have so many ideas thrown at the them and lots of "role models" that can be seen already having it all without seeing any of the achievement that goes into it, it must give off an impression that everything is easy and well within reach, well no, not in this book and that's what I love about it! The eldest sure loved that she thought it would be easy but it actually isn't when you try something yourself for the first time. Realistic and encouraging!

I think the 3p's helped a lot for the kids as we recycled this when we did school work and also learning our bikes, like the story and they loved it and the message it told!

This book is good for children between 3-8 years old, the rhyming is something I love in a book! I don't know why, sense of rhythm I think, it just always goes in a children's book!

I loved the little tricks at the end! A bookshelf must in any household in my opinion.

With thanks to netgalley, the publishers and Amy Kimlat for this lovely arc in return for my review today!

FAVORITE THING ABOUT BOOK: A very cute book about the things you want to become will take practice.

PROS/CONS OF WRITING: Mila wanted to be a magician but everything she tried failed. It took her mentor explaining that she needed to learn the tricks and practice in order for Mila to succeed. Practicing patience and mentoring are stressed. Simple tricks follow.

WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS BOOK: Great for young readers.


I received an ARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Awesome book for any child that loves magic and wants to read about magic and pranking others. This book reveals the magician's greatest secret!