The Munchkins, written by early childhood teacher Candice Zee is the first book in a series about thirteen children all blessed with special powers. The novel is also supported by a  website which gives descriptions about each of the Munch children.

This story revolves around the main characters in the story – the Munch children – who have aptly named themselves the Munchkins. The main character and narrator of the story is Capricorn Munch. Capricorn is one of the quieter members of the family, but also one of the most observant. As she is the narrator, the reader gets to hear her inner most feelings, and her opinions about her siblings and the interactions with their suspiciously acting neighbour ‘Big Boss”. The other children’s characters are well developed and differentiated, as is their relationships with each other. The one thing they all have in common is the magical powers they seem to have that allow them to heal themselves and other injured people, and the ability to levitate objects or even create new objects. Bizarrely, all of the children stop ageing at ten years old, which only adds to their mysterious qualities. The children live with their caring father Casey Munch. In stark contrast to this generally loving family is their neighbour; Big Boss. He is verbally abusive and manipulative and seems to have an uncanny knowledge about the children. Zee has done a wonderful job in developing the characters and contrasting between ‘good’ and evil’.

The Munchkins is a well-structured novel. The characters are introduced and established in the first chapters. The single narrator makes the novel easy to follow whilst giving an insight into her inner most feelings.  The munchkins has an interesting story line with a few magical twists and turns, and ends by leading into the next novel in the series.

Overall, The Munchkins is an enjoyable read. Characters are well developed, and the plot and structure is easy to follow. I award this novel four stars.