The story begins with a witch losing her magic walking stick. A little girl runs away from home where her harsh older siblings boss her around, and the witch asks her to find the walking stick in return for some coins. The little girl discovers that the walking stick is magic and uses it to make a few changes around her house before giving it back to the witch. When she does give it back, the witch discovers that the little girl has used up all of its magic.
This book is a good example of fantasy because it has magic present but is also set in a realistic location with realistic characters. In this story, the magic comes from the walking stick, which can make any wish come true.
Age Appropriateness: Primary

Margaret, a young little girl whose parents had passed, lived a terrible life. Her older siblings were constantly bossing her around and making her do all the work around the house! One day Margaret decides she's had enough and runs into the forest and hopes to be able to survive on her own. Margaret runs into an old lady who has lost her stick to a dog. She tells Margaret that if she finds and returns her stick, she will give her gold coins. With Margaret not knowing it was a trick, she ventures off to find the stick. At last, she finds it and realizes its a magic stick. She teaches her siblings a little lesson with the stick and returns it to the Old lady. The old lady is furious when Margaret had used up all the wishes, so she snaps the stick in half, and Margaret and the dog go back home, where the siblings are kind, and they can play fetch all day with the broken stick.
This story tells us a lot about consequences to not being kind. It teaches us "what goes around, comes around". When reading this I always wondered what would happen next. I visualized students wanting to read more, and shouting out, "that's not kind". It is a story that children will see the point and learn to treat others the way you would like to be treated. ( )

The classic fairy-tale theme of the much put-upon youngest child who is aided by a magical practitioner is turned on its head in Susan Meddaugh's amusing The Witch's Walking Stick. Young Margaret, living with her bossy older brother and sister, who make her do all of the work, happens upon an old witch in the woods, after deciding to run away, and agrees to help her regain her lost walking stick. Of course, this witch is a nasty individual, and has no intention of giving Margaret a suitable reward. Thankfully though, Margaret inadvertently discovers the secret of the walking stick, and uses it for her own purposes, foiling the witch's plot (and putting her brother and sister in their place) almost accidentally...

Although I cannot say that I enjoyed this quite as much as Susan Meddaugh's other witchy picture-book, The Witches' Supermarket, which had much more of a classic Halloween flavor to it, this was still an engaging tale. Meddaugh, who is best known as the creator of Martha books, always manages to include a winsome canine character in her stories, and this was no exception, as Margaret gains a doggy friend (among other things) during the course of the tale. Recommended primarily to young readers who enjoy stories in the same vein as fairy-tales, and to fans of the author/artist. ( )

A charming addition to the classic folktales, this literary tale includes all the basics - an underdog heroine battling family problems, a wicked witch, and cuddly animals. Our enterprising heroine succeeds against the witch mostly through luck, but her revenge on her oppressive older siblings is ingenious and great fun. ( )