Parental responsibilities weigh on Hepzibah the witch, who gives up her "wild nights out with the ghouls" to tend Halloweena, the human baby thrust on the witch by her sister. Hepzibah builds Halloweena a three-pronged training broom and teaches her to "burn cupcakes to a crackly crisp," but refuses to let her befriend unmagical children. Inevitably, the girl gets her way-on her namesake holiday. Glassman (Box Top Dreams) enlivens her premise with witty wordplay and sneaky fairy-tale references; New Yorker cartoonist Roberts offsets the creepy-crawlies (e.g., fresh-baked "lady fingers" are the kind with knuckles) by depicting a matronly Hepzibah tidily presiding over a menagerie of cats, bats and reptiles. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
reSchool-Grade 3-For the witch Hepzibah, life in her tower eating burned cupcakes and keeping people away is paradise. Then her world is turned topsy-turvy with the arrival of a human baby, sent by her sister. Named Halloweena for the day she arrived, the little girl proves a challenge for the witch, who must give up "her wild nights out with the ghouls." Despite Hepzibah's best efforts, by the time she is six years old, little Halloweena wants to meet the children who trick-or-treat at her house each year. Hepzibah tries to cook up a few friends, but Halloweena comes up with just the magic to get all the companions she needs-a cornfield with "gleaming stalks" of candy "rising high into the sky." Roberts's winsome pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations are full of witchy details like bat pajamas, the broom equivalent of a tricycle, and a cobweb canopy on the crib. Even the endpapers have a delightful chorus line of beasties in witches' hats. Use this with Caralyn and Mark Buehner's A Job for Wittilda (Dial, 1993; o.p.) and one of Tomie dePaola's "Strega Nona" books (Putnam) for a merry witch program.
Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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