Judith M. Ackerman’s charming children’s book, The Wicked Wizard and the Worms, contains a valuable lesson told through a wonderful story. In the book, a bitter wizard travels through the land casting a spell on everything that he sees is beautiful. Believing himself to be ugly, the wizard cannot stand anything that is lovely in the land. On the first page, he turns a beautiful bush filled with colorful flowers into an ugly, wilting shrub. One day, he comes across a peaceful, quaint kingdom. Everyone in the kingdom is beautiful and kind to each other. The king and queen, along with their stunning daughters, are the kindest of all the people in the land. The wicked wizard is infuriated by what he sees and sets out to turn the lovely kingdom into an unpleasant, spooky place.

In this wonderful story, humor is used to soften its darker sides. Such funny bits in the book include the wizard’s source of bitterness. Its lively illustrations also show some humorous moments such as one where the wizard is seen crying and feeling miserable for all the damage he has caused. I also loved that the pictures help to convey the characters’ emotions. The plot is easy to follow even for young readers as it remains focused on the wizard. The story also contains important lessons for children about self-confidence, contentedness, kindness, and forgiveness. The Wicked Wizard and the Worms by Judith M. Ackerman is a creative children’s story with funny scenes and powerful lessons.

There was once a mean ugly wicked wizard with a big red mole on his nose, who traveled all around throughout the land, casting spells on everything he came upon that he didn't like. The thing was, this wicked wizard didn't like anything. He wanted everything around him to be just as ugly and unhappy as he was. But later he realized that he was sad and lonely, and suddenly he didn't like everything around him to be ugly. And he was sad that he had cast a spell on the castle and all of the beautiful people around. So he started to cry, cry, and cry some more until a miracle started to happen. The world around him started to look beautiful again and he was not lonely anymore. You will adore The Wicked Wizard and the Worms by Judith M. Ackerman, and your child will have you reading this many times.

This may be an ugly wicked wizard, but I really liked reading about the way he changed and the valuable lessons he is teaching children through this book. If you make yourself look ugly and do bad things, people will think badly about you. But if you follow the path of this wizard, you will see the beauty and happiness around you and so will others you come in contact with. And you will be happy. Parents, this is a sweet little book for your child's library. Stefan Nikolic created fabulous illustrations for this story. The ugly pages have ugly dirt, leaves, and worms but the beautiful pages are filled with colorful butterflies and people and beauty all around. I can see this book in all classrooms. If you see a child that suffers from a lack of self-confidence, like I have so many times, this is a comforting book to read and discover how making changes can change things around you.