Recommended by J. Cute story of a young witch making her own rules in life. ( )

Cute children's book. Nothing that stands the test of time, but wasn't a bad read for my son and the illustrations are adorable. ( )

The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches, illustrated by Jane Manning.

Originally published in 1978, with illustrations by Karen Gundersheimer, this witchy little book was revised for HarperCollins' I Can Read series in 1999, with new illustrations by Jane Manning. It follows the story of Wendy, a little witch who finds her two sisters - the eldest, Polly, who knew everything, and the middle, Wog, who knew how to do everything best - vastly intimidating. When Polly and Wog leave her behind one Halloween, Wendy befriends trick-or-treater Roger, and the two have a wonderful night, discovering that Wendy does indeed have her own witchy powers.

The theme of a little witch being left behind on Halloween night, only to take up with a trick-or-treater, put me strongly in mind of Deborah Hautzig's Little Witch's Big Night, first published in 1984, and part of Random House's Step Into Reading series. I understand, from another online review, that it is also strongly reminiscent of Otfried Preußler's The Little Witch (which I haven't read). I don't know that Hautzig copied Low, any more than Low copied Preußler - I suspect they all were simply struck by a similar inspiration - but in any case, I found this an engaging little Halloween book. Manning, whose own recent witchy picture-book, Cat Nights, is a real winner in the genre, contributes colorful and quirky artwork that greatly enhances the appeal of the story.

All in all, a cute little book, ideally suited for beginning readers in the market for witchy tales. I think I may track down a copy of the original, to compare the narratives, and the different artwork. ( )

The theme of this book is self-confidence and how to be the best you can be and believe in your self. Wendy doesn't feel like a good witch because she can't cackle and fly like her two other sisters. However, Wendy does become a good, scary witch, but in her very own way. ( )

This was a fairly cute easy reader chapter book about a little witch whose older sisters are better than her at everything. She fears that she's not scary enough or smart enough to be a good witch. On Halloween, she spends time with a "ghost," develops some self-confidence in her witching powers, and shows her sisters that she's got what it takes.

It's not a fully developed story, but just right for early readers looking to start with chapter books. Not scary at all, the illustrations are bright, vibrant, and appealingly modern. The main character Wendy is very relatable and sweet-natured - kids will like her rhyming spells and her triumph over her not-so-nice sisters. ( )