Witchy Children's books

 The Witch who was Afraid of Witches by Alice Low

This week in class we are discussing how witches are depicted in children's books. The book I picked is called "The Witch who was Afraid of Witches" and it is by Alice Low. The title of this book stood out to me because I thought it might follow the classic "good witch/bad witch" characterization. It takes a very interesting approach to this idea.

Plot overview

The book begins follows Wendy, a young witch. She is afraid of "older, bossy, mean witches like her two sisters". Her sisters have their own special powers, but Wendy only has weak powers. On Halloween, a young boy dressed as a ghost comes to their house to trick or treat. She goes with him and learns that she has the power to make up her own spells, she just has to use her own voice. She casts a spell on him that turns his ghost costume into a witch costume. When she goes home, she casts spells on her sisters so they can't fly their brooms. They come home and realize Wendy's powers have changed. They respect her more because she has come into her power. The book says "they knew she was different... just like one of them".

Analysis

First, I want to discuss the way this book visually depicts witches. The witches in this book have a very classic witch look. They have the long black dresses, pointy black hats, brooms, and are often seen around black cats. I think this was a good choice for a kids book because the witches are very recognizable. Interestingly, Wendy is often shown without her hat and in more colorful clothes. I think this was done to set her apart from her sisters and make her more relatable to the audience. The classic witch look Wendy's sisters rock matches the classic "bad witch" personality they have in the book, while Wendy is more sympathetic.

This book is interesting because the main character is a "bad" witch, but it's not really depicted as a bad thing. Wendy wants to be scary and put powerful spells on people. She even puts spells on her sisters so they can't fly. She's doing things that "bad" witches do, but it's presented in a fun and silly way. This silly tone let's children better understand the real message of the book, the importance of being yourself. Wendy learns that to be the most powerful witch she can be, she has to be herself and stop comparing herself to her sisters. 

I think that this message aligns well with the witchy theme. Witches are by definition, different. They are something other than human and they have special magic or knowledge that gives them power over people. This identity lends itself to the lesson that it's important to be different.

Overall, I thought that this book was really cute. It's a nice story and message with vintage style drawings. I give this book 4/5 broomsticks. It misses one broomstick because in the end, she doesn't tell her sisters about her power and I didn't think that was a satisfying ending.