Publishers Weekly Review
A lonely young Witchling's plan to conjure a friend goes gently awry in this sweet-natured, jauntily rhyming tale. The Witchling, portrayed with pale skin, doesn't mind the bed beetles or dripping ceiling of her cozily appointed cave home, but she longs for a friend to take up the emptiness in her heart. Though her spell book has just the recipe, when she flies off in search of a special ingredient--"some furriness" from a one-eyed teddy bear--a crash landing offers friendship in another child, portrayed with brown skin. Fraser's bouncy text carries readers through the night sky at a good clip, while Massini's playful mixed-media artwork introduces two winning characters turned kindred spirits. Ages 3--6. (July) |
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Little Witchling, pale-skinned and peachy-cheeked with straight black hair, lives all alone in her cave "above the misty mountains, below the glowing moon," and has only one wish: for a friend. But when she tries to "magic" a friend, her spell needs one more ingredient--the hair from a bear! Little does she know the perfect last hair is waiting not on a fierce bear, but on a little girl's favorite teddy. Can she bring herself to take it from a small girl, Lola (who has brown skin with curly black hair)? Fraser's (The Littlest Yak) rhyming text has enough surprises to make readers chuckle and just enough poignancy to make them sigh. The simple plot allows Massini's illustrations, done in watercolor, pencil, printed pattern collage, and Photoshop, to shine. The pages swirl with magical details--a bat, an owl, a cauldron, a boot--while readers follow Little Witch's oversized glowing green hat through the story. The book design itself is outstanding. The text reads like poetry that's all but tangible as words drip, drip, drip down the page, whirl around the cauldron, and whoosh off into the night. VERDICT Delightful, poignant, sweet, and funny, this deceptively simple book will have readers spellbound. Recommended.--Hillary Perelyubskiy |