The Christmas Witch

Great story and illustrations they don't them make like this anymore!

At last! A story that combines the traditional Christmas tale of the birth of Christ with the modern day desire to give presents around that time of the year. The Italians are on the ball when it comes to tying such divergent activities together, and Ilse Plume's "The Christmas Witch", shows us how. No large North Pole dwelling elf for Italian children. They've their very own gift giving witch (complete with invisibility and magic powers too!).In this classic story, we learn of Befana. Once this woman lived in the hills of Italy, healing the sick and telling fortunes. One day, while bringing in some wood, she came across the Three Wise Men. The Three told Befana of the birth of Christ and she begged to come along. Unfortunately, by the time she'd hauled her wood back to her home and returned to follow, the men were gone. Nonplussed, Befana locates a bag of toys she would give and treks off to find Christ herself. For years and years she traveled, never finding him until one day she was given the job of giving away presents to every child in whom the spirit of Christ lives. Batta bing batta boom, the yearly Christmas witch. Like Santa, she prefers to give coal to naughty children. Unlike Santa, there's a real connection between her penchant for gift giving, and the religious subtext of the season.The book itself is fun. But while the story is great, the illustrations suffer. A bit flat, they contain a certain 2-dimensional cartoonish feel. Just the same, there's a lot to love in this story. I was particularly taken with how a religious figure like Befana can be a devout Christian and, at the same time, a witch. Take that Harry Potter haters! This would be a particularly good book to read to the kiddies around the Yuletide. It combines a known figure (the person who gives them mysterious X-mas goodies) with an unknown figure (Befana herself). A great read and an interesting story. Parents will find themselves learning just as much as their children, I'll warrant.