From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 2—This gentle, lyrical tale, written in the unusual poetic stanzas of a medieval sestina, recounts a young trick-or-treater's dogged attempts to make her dreams of flight come true. Linoleum block illustrations, in muted shades of green, orange, and brown and thick swathes of black and black line, juxtapose the cozy, rural details of a loving family's hearth and home with the shadowy, spooky outdoor world of jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, and bats under a full moon. The illustrative details ground and extend the story line of this part realistic, part magical tale, making the sophisticated text more accessible to younger listeners. "Hold tight to your broom/and float past the stars,/and turn to the heavens and soar." This is a quieter, more reflective addition to Halloween collections that offers an enchanting storytime read-aloud.—
Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT END
This sophisticated picture book is rich with imagination. When the lure of the moon on Halloween night is too much for a young girl in a witch costume, she sneaks out of the house, mounts her broom, and takes a tumble. But with determination and her little brother’s encouragement, she tries again, and flies far and high through the sky before being welcomed back to earth by her family. The text is a sestina poem, a nonrhyming form developed in the thirteenth century and composed of six six-line stanzas followed by a three-line stanza.The real magic here is the linoleum block print illustrations, which, with a rustic color palette of green, brown, and black, evoke a quaint style and rural setting, while echoing the dreamy mood in the words: “Hold tight to your broom / and float past the stars, / and turn to the heavens and soar. / For only a witch can fly past the moon.” More personal, quiet, and transcendent than most Halloween books, this is not a call to witchcraft, but rather to following one’s heart. Grades K-2. --Andrew Medlar
