Magical Potions and Spells– Vol.5: The Book of Legends

Content : Aubépine and Primrose have discovered an old spellbook at their neighbour’s house. Strangely, Aubépine is the only one who can read it. It turns out to be a collection of legends, the first of which tells of the Shadows — potentially dangerous creatures. Soon afterwards, a Shadow materialises inside the house and grabs Iris, leaving an ominous mark on her wrist.
What should Aubépine do? And what secret does the spellbook hold?

The fifth book in a well-received illustrated series for younger readers, this new adventure combines mystery, witches and magical learning — all themes that strongly appeal to young readers. Written by acclaimed children’s author Aurore Gomez, whose work includes La Forêt de Yara (winner of the 2024 Prix Enfantaisie and shortlisted for the 2024–2025 Prix des Incos), the story follows two young witch sisters with very different personalities as they learn to overcome their rivalry. The book is richly illustrated throughout in colour by Marine Gosselin.

About the author and illustrator:

As a child, Aurore Gomez loved reading, drawing, and writing. She adored nature and building dens, and she dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, just like Indiana Jones. Today, nothing has really changed — except that she is not an archaeologist, but a French teacher at a secondary school. Thanks to her job, she reads a lot of children’s literature, and one day she decided to tell her own stories. Her first novel, L’espoir sous nos semelles, was published in 2018 by Magnard. Since then, she always keeps a notebook by her side to jot down ideas and plan her future books.

Marine Gosselin has been an illustrator for the press and children’s publishing for around ten years. She has worked on several series of children’s novels, including Arno, le valet de Nostradamus for Albin Michel, the covers of Piper McNimbus, and The Secret Society of Extraordinary Witches for Lumen. She has also created picture books using more traditional techniques, such as coloured pencils, for French publishing houses.