SOLVED. Middle Grade Fantasy. Boy around 10 years old is main character. His dad is charged with having a hybrid magical child (the boy) & goes into hiding. He assigns three babysitters to watch his son. Read around 2014-2016. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Emma]

The book is Magicalamity by Kate Saunders.

Thanks for the help!

The main character's dad is formerly from a magical world. People from the magical world charge him for having a hybrid magical child (the boy). The dad records a video message that tells the boy a bit about what's going on. At the end of the video recording, the dad turns into a bat. The dad goes into hiding and assigns three babysitters to take care of the boy.

In the magical world, there's a conflict between magical groups due to a death in one of the families, the Falconers. Falconers are dominant in the magic world.

There's a boy who follows the main character around (I'll call him Charlie for now since I don't know his real name). Charlie first appears in the story disguised as one of the main character's friends, asking for him to come out to play. Later, he turns out to be the half brother of the main character.

The woman who died in the Falconers family had been poisoned with crab at a formal event. She's kept in a glass coffin. The main character, babysitters, and side characters take the coffin and it ends up breaking, which revives the woman. Characters in the magical world can attach wings to their backs (not feathered wings I think; the main character had wooden wings). They could fly with them. I'm pretty sure the cover had a picture of the main character using his wooden wings, but I could be wrong. I think the magical world also had magical carpets, one of which the characters rode on later.

Around the middle part of the book, Charlie's traveling with the main character's group. They're in a magical world city, and for some reason they have Charlie dip his head in a pot. (Maybe to cure his allergies to using magic.) He ends up looking very handsome.

There's a trial held for the main character's father. At the court, the accused wear a ball (maybe a crystal ball) around their neck. This necklace keeps them from lying.

One of the babysitters runs an orphanage or boarding home. The first of the babysitters is in the first scene of the story. When the boy wakes up and goes into the dining room, the babysitter (a stranger) is there, wearing yellow overalls. She's making breakfast. I think the other babysitter worked at a salon or beauty store, but I'm not sure.

I think that hybrid people in this story are called demis (ex: the main character is a demi). There's a character who's half-bat, half magical human. He might've been called a demifur.

It's at the end of the book when Charlie's revealed to be the main character's half brother.

[Becca]

Magicalamity by Kate Saunders