View source for Witches (Enchanted World) by Ruth Wickins

{{infobox2
|title=Witches (Enchanted World)
|author=Ruth Wickins
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|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.
|rating=3
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=12
|publisher=Mercury Junior
|date=October 2007
|isbn=978-1845600327
|aznuk=1845600320
|aznus=1845600320
|cover=1845600320
}}
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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