- Picture Books
- Ages 5–9
- Fantasy
The Witch in the Tower
Book 2 of 2 in The Three SistersView the full series
A highly illustrated, eerie-beautiful companion to The Queen in the Cave, centred on Carmela, fear and finding inner power. It is best for older picture-book readers who enjoy mysterious, art-led fantasy.
- Best for5–9
- FormatPicture
- Length64 pp
- Read aloud~13 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Lyrical
- Literary
Tone
- Dark
- Whimsical
- Suspenseful
- Heartwarming
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Carmela is drawn into the tower of a witch who opens a world far beyond the limits of ordinary imagination: ancient libraries, rooms of worms and spiders weaving intricate dresses, crystal prisms and a chance to fly. As the journey unfolds, Carmela's worries begin to shrink and her sense of possibility expands. The Witch in the Tower continues Júlia Sardà's Three Sisters world with the same lavish, strange visual language as The Queen in the Cave. It is not a conventional witch story about simple menace; instead, the witch becomes part of an inner journey through fear, hurt, imagination and self-discovery. The book is atmospheric and a little eerie, but its emotional direction is empowering. It should work well for children who like magical buildings, hidden rooms, beautiful darkness and stories about finding a place in the world.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 5–9
- Read aloud · 5–9
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: scary imagery, violence.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
4 / 5 · Notable
Best for
- Witch story
- Older picture book
- Beautiful illustrations
- Anxiety support
- Dreamlike fantasy
Avoid if
- Very sensitive to witches
- Wants light funny read
- Wants simple plot
- Bedtime only
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Low self esteem
- Nightmares or fears
- Moving to secondary school
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Darkly whimsical, lavishly illustrated picture books — atmospheric read-alouds with rich detail to pore over and infer from.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the spider-woven dresses — Carmela drawn into the witch's tower, rooms of worms and weaving and ancient libraries and crystal prisms, her worries shrinking as the possibilities open. The second Three Sisters where the witch turns out to be the way through rather than the threat.
- Magic powers
- Secret world
- Transformation
- Being special or chosen
Why parents love it
The Júlia Sardà second Three Sisters — lavish strange visual world, witch-as-inner-journey rather than simple menace, atmospheric eerie but ultimately empowering. Strong for older picture-book readers who liked The Queen in the Cave.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Great writing
- Conversation starter
- Indie gem discovery
In the series
The Three Sisters.
2 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Júlia Sardà.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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