Madeleine Edmondson

Little Anna Witch has trouble mastering magic in this utterly charming chapter-book fantasy, always more interested in what is going on in the woods outside her house than in the lessons her mother, Ada Witch, attempts to impart to her. When her lack of knowledge is exposed at the nightly mountaintop meeting of all the Witchmothers and Witchdaughters, she promises the Old One—the oldest and wisest of the witches—that she will work harder. But when she and her mother quarrel during their next magic lesson, instead of applying herself to her lesson she turns her mother into a frog! Deciding at first that this is a good thing, to live without supervision, Anna soon discovers that, like all young people, a Witchdaughter needs her mother...

From beginning to end, I found Anna Witch a positive delight, and no sooner had I finished reading it online, than I immediately went looking for a copy of my own. It was so lovely, in both storytelling and illustration, that I felt I needed to own a copy of my own, and am now adding it to my personal library. So many of the little details here, from the physical characteristics of witches in author Madeleine Edmondson's world—their hair grows upward (thus explaining their need for the traditional tall witch's hat) and their feet are chicken feet (like the feet on the house of Baba Yaga!)—to the fact that they always use names that are palindromes (i.e., spelled the same forward and backward), added to my reading enjoyment. The story itself was also engaging, addressing a number of themes—young people learning at their own pace, children both needing their parents and needing distance from them—in a magical way. The conclusion is, of course, heartwarming, and very satisfying. This is the second witchy tale I have read from Edmondson, following upon her picture-book, The Witch's Egg, and while I enjoyed that earlier title, on the whole I think this is the superior story.

As charming as the story here is, the artwork from William Pène du Bois—winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal for The Twenty-One Balloons, and two-time Caldecott honoree for Bear Party and Lion—is every bit as appealing. Done in black and white, the illustrations are simply beautiful, and capture both the magical charm of the story and characters, and the emotional pitch of each scene. In sum: this was just a witchy delight, and if I had first encountered it as a girl, might be a personal favorite! Highly recommended to beginning chapter-book readers who enjoy witchy fare.… (más)

Agatha was a nasty old witch who lived alone in an abandoned eagle's nest on the top of Lost Mountain. Every night she would leave the nest to do her work in the town below, frightening all of the people with her antics. Then one day a cuckoo's egg was left in her nest, and the cantankerous witch decided she would hatch it, in defiance of the mother birds who offered to take it off her hand. Slowly, through raising Witchbird, Agatha learned to enjoyed the company of another being, and for the first time she was happy. Then in the fall Witchbird left for the south, and Agatha went back to her solitary life. Was it the end of their friendship, or would Witchbird return...?

Originally published in 1974, The Witch's Egg is the first of two witchy tales from author Madeleine Edmondson - the second is Anna Witch, published in 1982 - and includes the delightful black and white artwork of Kay Chorao. It is somewhat text-heavy for a picture-book, and the story itself - grouchy, non-maternal character learns to love another, after adopting a bird, but must be parted from her adopted avian child for a time - contains no particular surprises. The story recalled a number of other books I have read with this theme, and although sweet, didn't particularly stand out to me. Far more impressive were the illustrations, whether of Agatha in all her long-nosed, beady-eyed glory, or of the town, often depicted in silhouette. I appreciated how Chorao managed to capture Agatha's changing emotional state in her artwork, without ever making her witchy subject less sharp and wicked-looking. Recommended to picture-book readers in the market for witchy fare.… (más)