Dorrie - the little witch whose hat was always on crooked, and whose stockings were always mismatched - returns for her third adventure in Dorrie's Play. Accompanied by her faithful cat-companion Gink, Dorrie searches for something to do one slow Thursday. With her mother in bed with a headache, and irascible Cook busily engaged in the kitchen, Dorrie decides to mount a dramatic production in the living room. All goes well in her preparation for, and performance of, The Princess and the Magician, until it is revealed that the cloth Dorrie cut up for curtains was actually the Big Witch's attire for that evening's Costume Ball. How will this latest accidental catastrophe be resolved...?

I adored the Dorrie books as a young girl, repeatedly checking out every title in my local library's collection, poring over Patricia Coombs' delightful illustrations, and thrilling to her endearing domestic tales, all dressed up in witchy clothing. But although I was a most devoted reader, I had no idea that there were twenty titles in the series, many of them unfamiliar to me. It was only recently, after happening upon the first two books - Dorrie's Magic and Dorrie and the Blue Witch - that I discovered Coombs' prolificity, and decided to reread the entire series.

Coombs' charming illustrations and engaging story make Dorrie's Play well worth the effort expended in obtaining it! With no copies for sale online, and few left in public libraries, it is the single most difficult Dorrie title to locate. Thankfully, my excellent public librarians stepped into the breach (as they always do), and found me a copy through inter-library loan. This time, it traveled a mere 200 miles to reach me! ( )