Winnie the Witch

This is, I think very much more for a child from 2-4 than anything else. The language is simple as are the concepts. It is very good humoured and beautifully illustrated. This is a book my 2 and 4 year old love to look at. There are quite complicated illustrations of Winnies house which is a large castle - it is all in black. The problem is that Winnie's cat is also black, she can see the cat when its eyes are open, but when they are closed she keeps tripping over it - so she changes the colour of the cat. It is a simple story, just a couple of plot elements, a little bit of problem solving and a happy ending (as you would expect) It is a nice book for discussing how to solve problems with children - (for instance what would you do if you kept tripping over the cat? what colour would you like best here? and so on) Its a nice book for opening up dialogue, and also for leading into art and creativity. It is also a nice book just to read - and it is a favourite with my two at bed time right now. I think the cat is the most appealing thing in it, which is well drawn and a bit leggy, the illustrations remind a lot of Ronald Searle/Quentin Blake style. I see there are more books in this series and I am keen to get hold of them for the girls before they grow out of them

I was introduced to this story at a conference for parents and educators focusing on curriculum differentiation for children who don't fit the mold (ie. the square peg in the round hole of an inflexible educational system). The message was to change the environment as opposed to the child and I thought that this story illustrated that point most poignantly.

I don't know whom to start with, the writer or the illustator. The book is very funny and to top it the drawings add humor to it. My 8 and a half years old boy laughed and loved it. Because we liked it so, we bought winnie can fly which is just as great.Ran to buy it or just klick it.

I found this book at the library. My 4 and 6 year old love it so much they asked for their own copy to have for always. Winnie's whole house is black and so is her cat Wilbur. This presents a problem when Winnie trips over Wilbur several times. She decides the solution is to magically turn him multi-colored but Wilbur is so unhappy Winnie changes him back and comes up with a much better solution. Any child will love this endearing story. Winnie the Witch is a great read anytime of the year.

A wonderful brilliantly illustrated book. It's impact has been so large in the UK, that children now draw their witches with socks the same colour as Winnie's. Not just for Halloween.