The Little Green Witch

The Little Green Witch
By: Barbara Barbieri McGrath
Illustrated by: Martha Alexander
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 32
Reading Level: 4-8

The Little Green Witch is going to be a must have in my home. I loved it. I first picked it up because the Illustrator shares my name, and that doesn't happen often. This colorful picture book is a play off the Little Red Hen. Hence the Little GREEN Witch. It was so brilliant, and had all the perfect details. The story starts of telling you about all the people who live in the "twisted hollow tree." The floating ghost, the snoozing bat, and the napping gremlin, and of course the little green witch who did all the "unhousework." It continues to tell about all the things she has to do to keep there home in perfect dirtiness. One day she finds some pumpkin seeds, and asks for some help planting them. Not I, they all say. So she does it herself, she then asks help with watering, picking, scoping and carving the pumpkin. And like the first they all say no in there own special way. The little Green Witch then takes the gloop and makes a "nicely burnt" pie. The smells sends all the other creatures out of there hiding places, she asks "Who wants some pie?" And of course they all reply I do, but the witch replies "I'm going to eat the pie myself." But before she eats the pie she turns the gremlin, bat, and ghost into... little red hens.

Recommended to: Children who have read the original Little Red Hen, its fun to compare what is similar and different. And anyone would get a kick out of the "unhousework."
Problems: If parents feel strongly against children believing in ghost, gremlins, and witches this wouldn't be the book for them.
My Reaction: Loved this book, a perfect book for a classroom around Halloween, or even in the home. The illustrations are beautiful, even the little gremlin looks adorable. At the very end I will admit, I totally thought she was going to turn them into pumpkins, and was more than happy to be wrong. Such a witty, cleaver book.