Customer Reviews

Old Black Witch!

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(0)
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This is undeniably my favorite book of all time.

I don't say this lightly. Wende and Harry Devlin's Old Black Witch is the first book that I have any memory of. If I'm feeling low, I still get it out and give it a quick read, even today. It still brings a smile. You could say this book is my oldest friend.

My copy has seen more wear and abuse than any book should. Not only did I draw on it (on almost every page) but I also took it into the bath tub, added a few of my own crayola styled illustrations and cut pages out--removing them to cut out the Old Black Witch herself, so I would have a facsimile to play with.

Several years ago, I spotted a paperback reprint and bought one for myself and my nephew. He was completely indifferent to it. I guess a pancake making New England Witch can't compete with Pokémon in the eyes of a modern child.....but she sure wins out with me.

If you ever find a copy of this, do yourself a favor and grab hold of it.

The pancake recipe on the back is great too!

As a child I delighted in both the story and the pictures in this wonderful book. As an adult, I love sharing this book with my two children, both of whom count this book as an all time favorite. My daughter and I have made the pancakes from this book and the magic nut cake from "Old Witch and the Polka Dot Ribbon" many a time. And for some reason, when she is sick or sad, this is still the first book she drags out for comfort.

Me too. To this day I love to snuggle down under a mountain of covers in a cold room on a dark stormy night just like old witch. I don't know why, but this book is a source of comfort as well as plain old pleasure, in our family.

And this book is in no way racist at all. As a scholar who has studied the history of racism in America, I do not believe there is any racism in this book--except for the fact that everyone in it is white. This is more a reflection however of the descrimination and separation present in American society, rather than any perpetuation of negative stereotypes.

Why do people with an ax to grind find the need to extrude fault with something as innocent and as charming as this book? AND INDEED, IT IS A VERY CHARMING AND LOVELY BOOK! The word police seem to be at it again. Since when does the WORD "black" ONLY refer to a specific ethnicity? That idea in and of itself may be construed as racist and in my opinion reveals the true bias of some previous reviewers. This amusing book will certainly do no harm to anyone's children and will very likely be enjoyed by the adult reader as well. Don't forget to try those blueberry pancakes, as they are not to be missed!

I first read Old Black witch when I was seven years old. That was thirty two years ago. I recently ran across the book at the library while there with my eight year old daughter. I was so delighted to see her again with her fat little body, beedy eyes and funny pointed shoes. As I read this book to my own daughter. I found myself falling in love with it all over again. When old black witch makes her room in the dusty attic, complaining all the way, she sits upon a cozy patch work quilt. Her head is tilted, looking into the spider web above her bed for comfort. My heart breaks for the funny little wonderful creature that she is, and how wonderfully she is represented in the illustrations. Old Black Witch speaks volumes about the unspoken love between children and their elders, especially those elders who may not be as demonstrative as they could be. Though old black witch is grumpy and difficult, Nickey knows that "she really is a good witch." And we know that Old Black Witch loves Nickey and will always watch over him. The story is a simple one, nicely told, of a displaced boy and his mother looking for a life. They find a family and a place in the world when they enter the domain of Old Black Witch. What really makes this story magical though are the illustrations, filled with bright 1960's color and detail and yet they are timeless. Just the tilt of OBW's head as she sits upon that quilt is and will always be a master piece to me. I'm so glad to see she's still around.

I am grateful to all who wrote affectionately of this book, especially "musical powers" review. I also find the racist remarks about this book total crap. If one bothers to look at the illustrations they will not see a witch portrayed as a person of color. She may look a little flushed & sooty but nothing else. The entire story is charming and I always loved the illustrations. The "black" in the title, for me, was always associated with witches wearing black & having black cats and black magic etc., certainly not pertaining to race. I guess there will always be people who attempt to read negative elements into everything they possibly can.
I wonder if anyone recalls another fun "witch book" called WHICH WITCH. In it there was a fancy witch and not so fancy witch. In attempting to cast a spell and turn ice cream into pitch she turned pitch into ice cream and I believe made it "rain" ice cream (all different flavors). It was a fun & silly book with neat illustration. Oh, an added note...I find it fascinating that the two accusatory negative reviews of this children's book are from two people who have each only submitted one review at Amazon...on this book!

Not many books my children had read to them as little ones made any impression. Old Black Witch did. We read that book so many times the cover disappeared. The illustrations are wonderful and the story of the triumph of a single mom was certainly ahead of its time. The book is a great model of tolerance and cooperation.

This is the one book I think of when I think of my childhood. I now have a child of my own and hope that he, too, will appreciate the book as much as I did.

I must have read, and have it read to me, this book a million times. Unfortunately my copy is a bit "tattered" to say the least.

I don't think there is a better book out there. Still today I can seem my mother reading it and doing her funny voices for the witch. May children of the world have the same experience I did.

I read this one to my children back in the 1960s and have since read it to my grandchildren. This is a pleasing, playful story of a young mother and her son who purchase a very old house to turn into a tea room. After lighting a fire in the fire place, they find the house already has a owner, a very old witch. The story is funny, well written and the art work is quite good. Highly recommend this one.

I have read Old Black Witch! so many times, I almost know it by heart. Each of my five, now grown, children loved the book and were enchanted by the witch and Nicky. I still have my old 1966 edition and since my first child was born in 1964, he heard it early and requested it often. As his siblings arrived, they all fell in love with the book and OBW, too. The whole bunch would sit and listen to the story of a single mom, a little boy, and the delightfully almost scary OBW. The younger the child, the bigger the eyes popped when, on the third page, "SQUAWK! THUMP!" The book went everywhere with us and has the scars and the crayon marks, and the blueberry stains to prove it. When I went back to teaching, in 1987, OBW got to almost frighten 100's of first grade children, too. Buy this book if you know any children who love great books and love great pancakes! How can we get this great, classic book back in print? Today's children need Old Black Witch!

My favorite childhood book. My Mother would read it aloud and would change her voice for each character. For years I have searched for this book. Now that I have a one year old daughter I want to create the same magic that my Mother did.