Witches (Enchanted World) by Ruth Wickins

Witches (Enchanted World) by Ruth Wickins
Buy Witches (Enchanted World) by Ruth Wickins at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: A well-illustrated and sturdy pop-up book in time for Halloween with superior build quality but occasionally clunky text. It stresses the fun aspect of Halloween rather than the scariness of witches.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 12	Date: 5 Oct 2007
Publisher: Mercury Junior
ISBN: 978-1845600327
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Written and illustrated by Ruth Wickins, the Enchanted World series is a collection of four pop-up books for the three-years plus market. This book and Wizards have been published in time for Halloween and will be followed by Mermaids and Fairies.

These are not your scary witches. They're the dress-up witches of Halloween who happen to live in the deep dark wood with all their animal friends. When they take to the sky on their broom they wear a glittery costume which made me wonder if there was a cocktail party in the offing.

Of course, a witch wouldn't be a witch if there wasn't a pot on the boil with some dreadful brew inside and it was this part which pointed up my occasional uneasiness with the rhyming text. Sometimes it is just not comfortable to read:

A slug, frog and toad have gone Into the bubbling cauldron What a horrid, nasty smell, When witches weave their magic spell.

The story reassures the reader that witches are hardly ever seen other than on Halloween and then stresses that this is a time to have some fun. It's not a book which might leave a child worried unlike others which we have seen recently.

Pop-up books are frequently let down by the build quality but that is certainly not the case here. The illustrations are printed on quality, gloss card which will wipe clean and this rather jaded reviewer found plenty to explore in the pages. Even when the pages have been opened several times they still work effectively and show no signs of wear.

For a child with an interest in Halloween or witches and wizards then this is a harmless and fun book. I doubt that it will spark the collecting mania which Daisy Meadows has sparked and it might be that a child would not be interested in more than one of the books.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending this book to The Bookbag.

Our Top Ten Picture Books For Halloween is well worth a look.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Witches (Enchanted World) by Ruth Wickins at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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