Yomi and the Power of the Yumboes
Davina Tijani, illustrated by Adam Douglas-Bagley
Little Tiger

Starring Yomi and her younger brother, Kayode, this is the second in an exciting series that is based on African mythology. The siblings, now in Senegal, are officially members of the Sacred Beast League and Yomi is getting bored with sorting her uncle’s paperwork; what she wants to be doing is having another adventure, one that involves finding a Yumboe, the most powerful of African fairies so Uncle Olu’s Beast Atlas says. When she asks her uncle about them he tells the siblings that although the SLB has been looking for these fairies for years none have been found although the Beast Hunters are always on the watch for them.

That night Yomi is woken by a sound coming from the kitchen. Down she goes to investigate and there before her is a Yumboe sampling the contents of the fridge. The little fairy has a damaged wing. She introduces herself as Safari and tells Yomi that she’s been looking for her and needs Yomi’s help in protecting the Yumboes’ secret city from the destructive Beast Hunters.She also says she’s on a mission to find the Yumboes’ most treasured possession, a moonstone, and that nobody else knows she’s asking humans for help.This is just the kind of adventure Yomi has been waiting for so she promises that she and Kay will do their utmost to help. And so they do. But can they possibly outsmart the Beast Hunters? They’ll most definitely need to make use of all their skills, not to mention some special silver energy from that wonderful silver star.

Having faced perils aplenty, this thrilling, fast paced quest with Adam Douglas-Bagley’s powerful illustrations, ends in a way that sets things up for Yomi and Kay’s next mission: South Africa here they come. Bring on some more fascinating African folklore.
For slightly younger readers is

Mirabelle and the Midnight Feast
Harriet Muncasater
Oxford Children’s Books

In this story starring the young narrator with a witch mum and a dad who is a fairy, Mirabelle, is excited that she’s going to be spending time in a witchy environment when she goes for a sleepover, and hopefully a midnight feast, at her best friend Carlotta’s home on the other side of town. The friends have been given strict instructions to stay out of Carlotta’s big sister Edith’s bedroom, not to use any magic and under no circumstances to touch Edith’s new Witch-Twitch-Supreme potion kit. However big sister has gone out for the evening and surely it wouldn’t hurt to sneak into her bedroom and have a look around, so long as they stay well away from that special potion kit. But Mirabelle just can’t resist the allure of Edith’s crystal ball and disaster strikes when it slips out of her fingers, through the window and ends up in pieces on the patio.

Despite their best efforts at repairs, they don’t fool Edith, but it’s Carlotta who gets blamed for the breakage. Will Mirabelle find the courage to own up and if so, then what?

I know a great many followers of this enchanting series whose eyes will be all sparkly when they get their fingers on the tenth book wherein friendship, sibling solutions and the importance of owning up are key elements.