Cheryl Christian

My grandson and I read this together. What a delightful book! One of the best Halloween picture books I have seen. The illustrations were awesome and all inclusive. Having a special needs child this was a pleasant surprise. I really appreciated that the illustrator included special needs children and portrayed them accurately as "normal" children. The text was fun and had the children mixing up potions and daring each other to try them. The author and illustrator were able to capture all the magic and fun of Halloween night without the scary side you often see in Halloween books. The one down side I had is that it looks like it is only available in softcover. I would love it if Star Bright Books made this into a hardcover. The book is a keeper!
Here is what my grandson had to say: "I love it! The pictures are really fun! I like the cats. The children are like kids in my class. The children in the book are having fun just like we do. I want to have a party like the one in this book. Then we can all go trick or treating. That was my favorite part. I hope my library gets this book! Let's read it again."… (meer)

Six little witches prepare for and celebrate Halloween in this sweet picture-book adventure from author Cheryl Christian and illustrator Wish Williams. With a simple, rhyming text - "Witches at their cauldron, witches at their brew. / Throwing in some spiders' webs, and a bone or two. / Any kind of smelly, slimy, sticky stuff will do" - and colorful illustrations that perfectly capture the excitement and fun of a night of trick-or-treating, Witches offers an exuberant portrait, perfect for younger children, of one of the most enchanting experiences in a child's year.

As someone with a predilection for witchy tales, one who looked forward to Halloween all year as a girl (it is still one of my favorite holidays today!), I really appreciate this book, which, with its brief text (one sentence per two-page spread) and bright illustrations, makes for the ideal seasonal read for younger children looking for gentler, non-frightening fare. I also really appreciated that the artwork, which utilizes a very appealing palette of colors, is so inclusive, depicting children of all races and abilities (one trick-or-treating child is in a wheelchair, and one of the six witches walks with the aid of leg braces and forearm crutches). The final revelation, vis-a-vis the witches' identity, came as no surprise, but that in no way detracted from its charm, or from the delights of this sweet Halloween treat!… (meer)