Nancy Faulkner

The eponymous witch with the long, sharply-pointed nose lived in a small cottage with a tall chimney, on the edge of a vast forest. With her lived three black kittens, and a young girl named Jennie Maria. Setting off to town one day, to do the shopping, the witch warned Jennie Maria not to look in the chimney while she was gone. Naturally, having exhausted all of her other activities, and becoming bored, the girl did just that, and found a feather bag full of money. Terrified, when she couldn't get the bag back into the chimney, Jennie Maria panicked, taking off into the forest. Passing two houses, where she found no refuge, the exhausted girl eventually came to rest in the home of a young boy. But the witch, returned home from her shopping, was on her trail...

Originally published in 1972, The Witch with the Long, Sharp Nose was apparently a story handed down in author Nancy Faulkner's family for many generations. Faulkner is better known for her works of historical fiction for young readers - The Traitor Queen, The Sacred Jewel, etc. - and this is one of only a few picture-books she penned. The story is interesting, with a certain amount of whimsy - I loved the witch's long nose, which gets so tired at one point that it drags upon the ground - and it sets up an engaging premise, with Jennie Maria becoming frightened and running off. That said, a number of things didn't quite make sense to me - why, for instance, did Jennie Maria take the bag with her, when she fled? - and I was left wondering what happened in the end. The story cuts off as the witch drives Jennie Maria home, poking the girl with her nose, but there is no indication what will happen next - will Jennie Maria be punished? will the two settle back into their lives? It's impossible to say. Although the open-ended conclusion left me wanting more, I did enjoy this fairy-tale-style story, and I appreciated the accompanying artwork from Ronald M. LeHew, done in a cute, colorful style that reminded me just a bit of Mary Engelbreit. This is a fairly obscure book - I had to request it through inter-library loan - but if one can obtain a copy, I recommended it to picture-book readers who enjoy fairy-tales, witchy fare, and vintage illustrative styles.… (mehr)

Set in the time of Chaucer, a peasant leaves the manor with Wat Tyler's Rebellion. Sickened by some of the violence, he opts to stay in London to gain his freedom (by staying a year and a day). Accused wrongfully of a capital crime (theft), he takes sanctuary in a cathedral where he learns to read and write. Aimed at young teens, it also has a love interest and presents the period quite well. Many speech patterns and vocabulary are "foreign" to today but enhance its historical nature. I enjoyed it.… (mehr)