FICTION

Back to School, Picky Little Witch!

by Elizabeth BROKAMP
Back to School, Picky Little Witch! illus. by Peter J. Welling. 32p. Pelican. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781455618873; ebk. $16.99. ISBN 9781455618880. LC 2013033298.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—In this sequel to Picky Little Witch (Pelcian, 2011), the titular character gives Mama Witch compounding challenges during back-to-school shopping. The green child wants rainbow colors instead of black clothes, a broom that's "comfy and fast," and a beret. A compromise over a pair of kittens saves the day. The palette of Welling's line cartoons jars appropriately with sickly greens and purples. He includes glimpses of humor, as in his broom-filled parking lot at "Witches R Us." Brokamp unevenly mixes rhyme and prose. The Picky Little Witch finally expresses love once most of her desires are met and the shopping bag is full.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
While back-to-ghoul shopping, Picky Little Witch wants (much to Mama Witch's chagrin) clothing with sequins, rainbows, and zippy modern flair--not black capes, pointy hats, and wooden brooms. Two little kittens (one black, one white) help them realize that compromise is possible. Green-tinged illustrations contain some witchy humor, but the overlong text, a distracting mix of prose and rhyming verse, is cumbersome.
Reviewed by Gay Lynn Van Vleck , Apr 01, 2014

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