A new series about witches and wizards

Is-Sħaħar ta’ Petut (2) – Il-Wied tal-Lupu l-Aħmar

Did you know that Naxxar is home to two rival witch families? Good witches and bad ones, Ta’ Petut and Ta’ Totall – an old rivalry, theirs.

This is the premise of the children’s series Is-Sħaħar ta’ Petut by Clare Azzopardi. The first book in the series, published last year, Għand Rebus Totall, gave rise to a great deal of curiosity thanks to its exciting mix of magic, friendship and its quaint Maltese setting. And for all the fans of that first adventure, Merlin Publishers have just published the second book in the series: Il-Wied tal-Lupu lAħmar.

Young Pinzett, ever the curious girl, quizzes her grandmother about the old rivalry that exists between the witches’ families. Grandma and Pinzett’s mother, though reluctant at first, cave in and tell her a tale of old magic rivalry. And so in this second book we read of how this epic war started, and why the baddie, Rebus Totall, wants to get rid of all the witches of Ta’ Petut at all costs.

Meanwhile, Pinzett and her friend Sam – a boy like you and me, from a non-magical family – share a secret. In the first book they had managed to steal a small phial containing a mysterious red liquid, a potion that the wicked Rebus Totall had concocted to destroy all the Ta’ Petut witches. Pinzett hid it and kept quiet about it. And since, of course, one thing leads to another, their exploration in the valley Tal-Lupu l-Aħmar brings them face to face with even more magic and danger.

Is-Sħaħar Ta’ Petut is a new series about witches and wizards living side by side with mortals in a Maltese town and the magical adventures they get up to. Il-Wied tal-Lupu l-Aħmar is the second book in this series, after Għand Rebus Totall.

The Is-Sħaħar ta’ Petut books are ideal for children aged eight years and over, since the books are written in short chapters, with a font big enough for children who have started gaining confidence in reading Maltese on their own. Deandra Scicluna’s beautiful, vibrant illustrations make reading the stories even more enjoyable.

Il-Wied tal-Lupu l-Aħmar is published in flexi-binding, making it more durable in children’s hands and is available for sale from all leading outlets or directly online from