Brume
by Jérôme Pélissier
SLIDE: Sure of exactly who she is. READ. Witch = village PROTECTOR in-story (preempts witchcraft-as-aspiration misread). All three handles screened clean: @jerome_pelissier_arts (writer, ex-Ubisoft), @carinehinder (illustrator, 12K, apolitical illustration/garden), @astrakidsbooks (US publisher). APPROVED CAPTION PARAGRAPH: For the kid who already knows exactly who she is and dares the world to keep up. Brume wants to be the village witch, which in her world means the one who watches over and protects everyone, and she chases it with her whole fierce heart. The author closes by naming what really built the story: kids remember the books that make them laugh. Between Brume's nerve and a pig who wants nothing but chocolate croissants, this one earns it. I relate entirely to the pig.