Hatty wasn't like the other witches. She was tall and straight, rather than short and crinkled; she had a red nose and orange hair, rather than green skin and lots of hair; and she wore a multi-colored hat that was notable for its brightness. The witches weren't sure what had gone wrong, but at some point in the creation process—for witches were made, rather than born—something must have gone wrong. Teased for her first one hundred years, Hatty was glad to finally go to witch school, and go she did, despite the skepticism of the older witches, who wondered whether it was worth educating such an oddity. But Hatty persevered, studying her books with single-minded determination. And when the time for testing finally came, she proved herself worthy: flying on a book (rather than a broom), but also creating the most fearsome monster of all, and the most violent storm. In the end, Hatty proved that being different doesn't mean you can't be the best...

Published in 1992 by the Woodbridge, England-based Henderson Publishing, Hatty Batty: The Bookworm Witch was part of the Looney Balloonies story collection, featuring brightly-illustrated stories about characters that could in turn be made by the child reader, using the cardboard cut-outs (and in this case, balloons) included with the book. I read a digitized version of the book, so was not able to create the character myself. That said, I can imagine that this interactive element added to the fun of story-time, for those children who encountered the book as it was originally intended. Judged on the story alone, I found this a fun, entertaining tale, one with plenty of witchy details—I appreciated the spells that were included—and a book-loving theme that was sure to appeal to this bibliophile's heart. The scene in which Hatty flies through the air on her book has got to be my favorite. The artwork is colorful and humorous, with (again) plenty of witchy details. This one is a little text-heavy for a picture-book—each two-page spread has one full page of text and one full-page illustration—so I would recommend it for slightly older picture-book audiences, or those who have a longer attention span, and who enjoy witchy fare. ( )