nerfherder86's review
4.0
This was a trip down memory lane for me--I love Steven Kellogg books, he was one of my favorite authors to read back when I was a children's librarian. I love his colorful detailed illustrations, full of humorous touches. I'm not sure if I ever read this one when it was new, it didn't seem familiar at all. The plot is very reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's Sneetches story, with two factions fighting each other for no good reason, in this case the "Pepperwills" and the "Valdoons." The resolution the young witch comes up with was humorous, involving a giant cake eaten by goblins and the clever use of a costume party. There's also not a whole lot of Christmas content, just a vague reference to "christmas magic" and the giving of gifts. And a giant star that magically tops the tree. The witch hears an angel read "the Christmas story" and immediately is enamored of it, with not much explanation. But that's enough I suppose. I chuckled at the cranky head witch being named "Madame Pestilence," and that the student witches are only given creamed cockroach casserole to eat. Ew! I picked this up because there's a new picture book out called The Christmas Witch, written by Aubrey Plaza, and I thought I'd compare the two.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
4.0
Read with my son when he was in first grade.* A fun take on a good witch.
*He had to keep a reading log and I just found this while going through a bunch of storage totes.
*He had to keep a reading log and I just found this while going through a bunch of storage totes.
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