The Witch's Walking Stick [Hardcover]

Susan Meddaugh (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Poor Margaret is waking up to another bad day. Ever since her parents died, her brother and sister have made her sweep the floors, chop the wood, cook the meals, feed the pigs, and anything else they can think to demand. Selfish, mean, and twice as big as Margaret, they always get their way. When at last Margaret has had enough, she runs away into the forest. Just as she is wondering how she will survive, she comes upon an old lady with a very sad story: a dog has run off with her walking stick, and she can’t do a thing without it. When the old lady promises Margaret a reward of three gold coins for its safe return, the girl readily agrees. Little does Margaret know that the old lady is really a witch, her reward a trick, and her walking stick a magic stick the witch has used to make a thousand miserable wishes come true . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–Poor Margaret lives with her mean older brother and sister in a cottage in the woods. Forced to cook and clean, she decides to run away. She meets an old woman who offers to pay her three gold coins if she can retrieve a star-topped walking stick from a dog that has run off with it. Unbeknownst to Margaret, the woman is really a mean-spirited witch who has used her walking stick to make a thousand miserable wishes that have wreaked magical mayhem throughout the forest. Meanwhile the dog, magic stick in mouth, is wishing for someone to throw it for him and–voila! along comes Margaret. With the ratty, drool-covered stick in hand, Margaret recognizes that it belongs to the old woman. As she wishes she knew why it could be worth gold, her wish is granted and she instantly knows that it is bewitched. She decides to borrow it for an hour or so and give her siblings their comeuppance (though she kindly declines to leave them permanently transformed as, respectively, a pig and a ham sandwich). When she returns the now wished-out stick to the witch, the hag breaks it in a fit of pique, leaving Margaret with a dog and a happier home. Illustrated with watercolor and ink in a style that will put readers in mind of William Steig, Meddaugh's dry, quirky tale of the little guy triumphing over adversity will have children smiling and cheering.–Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. This droll original fairy tale treats timeless themes of injustice and comeuppance. When a dog runs off with a magic stick belonging to a witch who uses it to torment helpless animals, Margaret intercepts it and targets more deserving victims: her cruel elder siblings, who are "selfish, mean, and twice as big as [she is]." Pancake-gobbling, greedy sis metamorphoses into a fat pink pig; brother, who "feels like a sandwich for lunch," becomes a giant ham-on-rye. The bossy pair never misbehave again; nor does the nasty witch, as Margaret has unwittingly used up the stick's power. Although Meddaugh's followers may miss the amusing balloon dialogue that enlivens her Martha books, they will certainly spot the family resemblance between Martha and this book's tongue-lolling, ever-ravenous canine, and the more traditional narrative line does facilitate sharing with large groups. Younger siblings will particularly sympathize with the deceptively tiny Margaret, and cheer her on as she exacts her fierce, gleeful vengeance upon her oh-so-deserving elders. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (August 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618529489
• ISBN-13: 978-0618529483
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,700,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Meddaugh was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from Wheaton College, where she studied French literature and fine arts. After working briefly with an advertising agency in New York, she moved to Boston and worked at a publishing company for ten years, first as a designer, then art editor, and finally as art director. While there, she did the illustrations for GOOD STONES (Houghton Mifflin) by Anne Epstein, and then decided to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and creator of children's books. Since that time, Susan has written and illustrated many popular books for children. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Charming!, September 26, 2008

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Witch's Walking Stick (Hardcover)

This is a darling little story that is quick to make sure that good is rewarded and evil is punished--in the cutest ways possible. The weapon here is the walking stick of a wicked witch, a stick that still holds a little bit of magic. We then have Margaret, a little girl abused by her older siblings. When fate crosses Margaret and the walking stick, justice is served. It's funny, sweet, and has that fairy tale vibe of happy endings.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute, funny fairy tale, January 10, 2006

By 

KAM (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witch's Walking Stick (Hardcover)

My 5-1/2 year old and 4 year old boys loved this story and asked me to read it to them again and again immediately after listening to it the first time. FYI - - It was one of more than 20 books on our school's reading award list for Kindergarten - 2nd graders. Very engaging and entertaining. Good lessons about being kind/good vs. being mean/evil. A dog snatches a witch's magic walking stick, and the witch asks a girl to get it back for her. The girl had been mistreated at home by her older siblings since their parents died. Caveats: I did not like the fact that it mentioned that the parents' died, although it was just in passing, so I edited it to say the parents were not there. It is also worth pointing out to others who may be concerned that the girl runs away from home. I edited that out, too. I just don't like bringing up subjects unnecessarily. I said she left her home and left it vague as to how long she was planning to stay away. I know, I know ... but, I'm sorry, I'm just not reading that to my children. Nevertheless, we loved the story.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars from gobbysreviews, September 26, 2005

By 

gobby - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witch's Walking Stick (Hardcover)

"There once was a very old witch who had a magic walking stick. Over the years she had used it to make a thousand miserable wishes come true...."

Susan Meddaugh has written and illustrated a nifty, new fairy tale. It's an action / adventure thriller for your little ones. Good versus Evil. You may have noticed that the good guys always win in action / adventure thrillers. And then everyone lives happily ever after--well at least the Cinderella-like Margaret, the doggy, and all the cute critters in the forest do.

As for Margaret's older brother and sister, let's just say they had a well- deserved attitude adjustment. The situation at home went from:

" 'Margaret!' they both yelled together. 'Make the breakfast. We want pancakes and we want them now!'

" 'You wouldn't do this if Mother and Father were still alive,' cried the girl.

" 'That's true,' they agreed. 'Now, don't forget to feed the pigs.'

" 'I think I just did,' said Margaret. But not so loud that they could hear."

to:

"Then Margaret said to her brother and sister, 'The next time you think about being mean to me remember what happened today.'

"Still, just to be sure, she silently wished that if they ever forgot, her brother would have an overwhelming urge to slap mustard on his head and her sister would start to oink."


It's amazing how the proper application of a magic walking stick can quickly and permanently change people's attitudes--which, in this case, is really good because the magic walking stick was as old as the witch was. As a result, Margaret unknowingly used up the last of its magic on her nasty, mean brother and sister. But, we won't tell, and I doubt Margaret and her new doggy will either.

As for the witch? Well, when we last saw her, she looked like she was having a really bad hair day. It probably wasn't improved by the big grins plastered all over the faces of the woodland critters. And I could swear the mouse and 'coon were clapping.

Who says stories about witches (or Halloween) have to be scary? Certainly not Susan Meddaugh. Technically though, this isn't a "Halloween" book because the Library of Congress considers _The Witch's Walking Stick_ to be Juvenile fiction about witches, wishes, and magic. But aren't witches and magic a big part of the Halloween holiday?

So go ahead and be just as creative as Susan Meddaugh was. Add it to your Halloween collection at home, school, or library. That's what I did because it's a fun, fairy tale--not another scary, monster / horror tale for Halloween. _The Witch's Walking Stick_ is definitely worth 5 stars from gobbysreviews. Read it to your little ones, and...

ENJOY!

gobby
Book Reviewer at Marathon Library