Author Eric Braun and illustrator Robert Squier explore the world of witches in this brief picture-book, part of Picture Window Books' Fairy Tale Superstar series. Establishing that witches are not real, the narrative runs through some of the common physical characteristics of the witches of story, as well as some of the things they like to do. Although noting that not all witches are evil—Tomie de Paola's Strega Nona and L. Frank Baum's Glinda are given as examples of good witches—for the most part the book concentrates on evil witches, and the havoc they cause in various famous tales. The book closes with a list of factors about witches, a glossary, index and list of further resources.

Because it is part of the Fairy Tale Superstar series, which also has titles focusing on everything from princesses to ogres, unicorns to dragons, I went into The Truth About Witches expecting that it would focus on witchy figures from fairy-tales, rather than addressing the wider topic of witches. This allowed me to enjoy what was presented, even though, as an examination of witches in general—whether in history, or in world folklore (as opposed to fairy-tales specifically)—it would fall rather short. I appreciated that it mentioned both classic fairy-tale authors like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as more modern writers like Tomie de Paola and J.K. Rowling. There were a few points of confusion that I think ought to have been cleared up, including the statement that goddesses like Circe, from Homer's Odyssey, were akin to contemporary witches. Of course, Circe is a witch/sorceress figure, but calling her a goddess and then saying that goddesses are pretty much the same thing as witches, is inaccurate and odd—one wouldn't say the gods of any tradition were the same thing as wizards, surely? I think this section should have been worded more carefully, with the information that Circe was a sorceress/witch and a minor goddess, rather than making the claim, as the author did, that "a goddess is like a modern fairy-tale witch."

Leaving this aside, I did appreciate this as a very basic exploration of the witch figure, as she appears in stories with which young people—the audience for this title—might be familiar. The digital artwork from Squier is colorful and vivid, ably capturing many different witch-like figures. Recommended to young fairy-tale fans and readers who enjoy witchy fare, as a companion to their entertainment reading. ( )