Customer Reviews

Winnie the Witch

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3 star:		(1)
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I found this book at the library. My 4 and 6 year old love it so much they asked for their own copy to have for always. Winnie's whole house is black and so is her cat Wilbur. This presents a problem when Winnie trips over Wilbur several times. She decides the solution is to magically turn him multi-colored but Wilbur is so unhappy Winnie changes him back and comes up with a much better solution. Any child will love this endearing story. Winnie the Witch is a great read anytime of the year.

I was introduced to this story at a conference for parents and educators focusing on curriculum differentiation for children who don't fit the mold (ie. the square peg in the round hole of an inflexible educational system). The message was to change the environment as opposed to the child and I thought that this story illustrated that point most poignantly.

This is, I think very much more for a child from 2-4 than anything else. The language is simple as are the concepts. It is very good humoured and beautifully illustrated. This is a book my 2 and 4 year old love to look at.

There are quite complicated illustrations of Winnies house which is a large castle - it is all in black. The problem is that Winnie's cat is also black, she can see the cat when its eyes are open, but when they are closed she keeps tripping over it - so she changes the colour of the cat.

It is a simple story, just a couple of plot elements, a little bit of problem solving and a happy ending (as you would expect) It is a nice book for discussing how to solve problems with children - (for instance what would you do if you kept tripping over the cat? what colour would you like best here? and so on) Its a nice book for opening up dialogue, and also for leading into art and creativity.

It is also a nice book just to read - and it is a favourite with my two at bed time right now. I think the cat is the most appealing thing in it, which is well drawn and a bit leggy, the illustrations remind a lot of Ronald Searle/Quentin Blake style.

I see there are more books in this series and I am keen to get hold of them for the girls before they grow out of them

A wonderful brilliantly illustrated book. It's impact has been so large in the UK, that children now draw their witches with socks the same colour as Winnie's.

Not just for Halloween.

This book is being used as a way to get teachers to consider their teaching and environment of learning in order to meet students' needs. It is great for showing how ridiculous it is to blame students for ALL the problems in education. The greatest single impact on a student's academic achievement is the teacher. His/her influence, classroom culture, relationship-building talents, content knowledge and mastery, and attitude. All of these things are teacher-based choices for excellence.

I love this book and it's my favorite present for boys or girls from 2 to 5 years old. It's a great simple story that will make your child smile and think. And I guarantee that you will also enjoy and learn from Winnie's experience.

Winnie the Witch was an absolutely WONDERFUL story that I shared with my third grade class. Finally, an author has created witch that is not wicked and actually has a personality & spirit within her! Students, parents, teachers, and all of us can learn a lesson from this story. It teaches a powerful lesson about good character and respecting those around us. It is a great story for all to read!

I used this book for a recent Special Needs training I facilitated at South Carolina University in Sumter, SC. The Preschool teachers loved it because it got over and sealed the point I was trying to make. "Don't change the child, change the environment in which the child is in." It gave them a more open mind of how to adapt their classrooms for the children in which they serve.

We have had this book for years and I just purchased it for my daughter's Kindergarten classroom, it is such a fun book, I love the illustrations and it is one that I can read again and again and still enjoy it.

As an owner of many black cats in the past, I could certainly identify with Winnie's problem. I've taken many a nasty fall due to black cats lurking on dark stairs. Her attempts to solve the problem by first changing Wilbur's colour are beautifully and wittily illustrated and guaranteed to raise a smile. The cat's bemusement and embarassment at his new colouring is also spot on. Winnie finally realises that she loves Wilbur best just as he is, so changes her entire house for his convenience.