View source for What's In The Witch's Kitchen? by Nick Sharratt

{{infobox1
|title=What's In The Witch's Kitchen?
|author=Nick Sharratt
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A superb pop-up book, with a simple idea beautifully executed: all the flaps can open two ways, revealing something different each time. It works perfectly and is great fun. Highly recommended.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=24
|publisher=Walker
|date=September 2009
|isbn=978-1406322279
|cover=140632227X
|aznuk=140632227X
|aznus=140632227X
}}

The witch's kitchen is magical: if you open the fridge door one way, there's something tasty inside. Open it the other way, and there's something scary and gruesome. Dare you look in all the drawers in this delightful pop-up book?

What a clever book! It's a simple idea beautifully executed. At first glance, all the flaps seem to be the sort of thing you get in any pop-up book. Some ingenious paper engineering means the hinge can be at either the left or right, revealing a different item depending on which way you open it - will it be biscuits and cakes, or spiders and snakes? Young children will be taken in by, well, the magic of it. As clever as the paper engineering is, the flaps aren't any more delicate than those you'd find in run-of-the-mill pop-up books.

I'd happily give ''What's In The Witch's Kitchen?'' a glowing recommendation based on the idea alone, but it's a superb book beyond that. Nick Sharratt's illustrations are big, bright and bold, making them perfect for the young audience. The creepy crawlies, ghosts, and all other Halloween items are spooky enough to be atmospheric, but there's nothing that will give even the youngest children nightmares.

It's also a wonderful introduction to rhymes, that will get everyone joining in. Crunchy hot toast or grumpy burnt ghost? Strawberry tea or goblin wee? Cherry tart or lizard's fart? Kids'll giggle their heads off at those, and I hope all the adults do too. Children love opening doors, they love pop-up books, they love giggling, and they love gross things. What more could you want? Highly recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

There's plenty of further reading to pick from in our [[Top Ten Books For Children Who Think That Farts Are Funny]] and [[Top Ten Picture Books For Halloween]]. For children who love opening things, [[What's in the Fridge? by Gaby Goldsack and Jo Moon]] is great fun. [[Zoom and Fly, Mr Croc by Jo Lodge]] is a very impressive pop-up book.

{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Picture Books For Halloween}}

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