Rose ImpeyRezensionen

Titchy-witch wasn't sure she liked it when her baby sister Weeny Witch was born. With all of the attention, praise and play being lavished on this noisy, smelly newcomer, she began to feel a little bit twitchy, and when given the opportunity, a spell just popped out! When Weeny-witch's head disappears as a result, it falls to Cat-a-Bogus to set things right, with his own magic, leading Titchy-witch to realize that little sisters aren't so bad after all...

The third of twelve beginning readers from British author/illustrator team Rose Impey and Katharine McEwen to chronicle the adventures of the eponymous little magic-maker, Titchy-Witch and the Disappearing Baby takes a common childhood experience—the feelings of jealousy and resentment that are sometimes attendant upon the arrival of a new baby sibling—and gives them a fantastic patina. Like its two predecessors, the story is simple but engaging, and the artwork expressive and full of fun. I was reminded, while reading, of Jane O'Connor's 1986 I Can Read Book, Lulu and the Witch Baby, which covers similar ground. Recommended to beginning readers who enjoy witchy fare, as well as to fans of this witchy character.

Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts (original British edition)

Titchy-witch confronts Gobby-goblin and his bully brother in this early reader from British author/illustrator team Rose Impey and Katharine McEwen, the second in a series of twelve devoted to her witchy adventures. Using her spells in retaliation for the goblin brothers' actions, and again when their seven boggart cousins show up after school, she is uncowed, and while she accepts her feline companion Cat-a-bogus' reprimand for not waiting for him by the school gates, she is already planning her next salvo in her war with her schoolyard enemies...

A number of years ago I read the Americanized edition of this book, Wanda Witch and the Bullies, and found it an engaging little witchy confection, perfect for beginning readers with a taste for such fare. That being said, I never went on to read the rest of the books in the series, either the three others published in the USA, or the rest, only ever published in the UK. Having recently begun reading the entire series, in the UK editions, I am able to compare this original, Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts, to the American edition. Reading them side-by-side, I can pick out some minor differences in language and vocabulary—Titchy-witch turning one of the goblin brother's noses into a sausage here, but a hot-dog in the American edition, for example. The major difference seems to be the change in the heroine's name, from Titchy-Witch to Wanda Witch, and the transformation of boggarts into goblins. I find the former unnecessary and the latter unfortunate. Boggarts are creatures of English folklore, and while they might not be as well-known in the states as goblins, I don't see why they couldn't be included. One more chance lost, for children here to learn something new, something they might appreciate knowing later on in their reading lives, when they encounter boggarts in works like the Harry Potter books, or in traditional folktales. There were a few other places where the changes made struck me as arising from a culturally specific didactic impulse—when the boggart cousins appear here, they are described as traveling in a gang because "they're so stupid they'd get lost on their own," a sentence left out of the American edition altogether—but on the whole, the two most obtrusive changes were to the heroine's name, and to the type of creature she confronts.

In any case, leaving that all aside, I found this an entertainingly witchy tale, and a worthy follow-up to Titchy Witch and the Birthday Broomstick. Recommended to fans of the character, and to beginning readers who enjoy stories about witches.

Immensely excited to be turning seven, Titchy-witch was up early on the big day, long before her parents—Witchy-witch and Wendel—her baby sister Weeny-witch or any of her various pets had risen. Given a broomstick on this important occasion, Titchy-witch began to practice under the tutelage of the mostly indifferent family feline, Cat-a-bogus. But her growing skill led her to grow careless, and soon she was violating all of the rules, including the one that said she could only practice indoors. Soaring through the sky on her broom, would Titchy-witch be able to control her flight? And what would she do when she met Witchy-witch in mid-flight, and disaster struck...?

The first of twelve beginning readers from British author/illustrator team Rose Impey and Katharine McEwen devoted to the adventures of the eponymous Titchy-witch, Titchy Witch and the Birthday Broomstick explores a common theme in witchy lore: learning to fly, and the challenges thereof. The text is quite simple, as you would expect from a beginning reader, but the story itself is engaging. The artwork is colorful and full of fun. Many of the little details, from the various animal companions—the aforementioned Cat-a-bogus the cat, Eric the spider, Victor the vulture—to the home that is both modern and magical, add to the reader's enjoyment. I have read one other book from this series—the American edition of the second book, Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts, which was published in the states as Wanda Witch and the Bullies—but I look forward to reading the entire series in the original British editions. Perhaps for those four books which were published in the USA, I will do a side-by-side reading of the American and British editions, to contrast and compare. However that may be, this is one I would recommend to beginning readers who are fantasy fans and who enjoy witchy fare.

Eduard

Nifty art.

This book brought to you by, "Let's terrify our children." Or, theoretically, let's reassure them that their terrors can be dealt with by an adult. But. Yeah, let's terrify them first.

I'm baffled by this entire genre.

398.2

An okay book. I was sussing it out to see if it would be a good read for my daughter. While I don't think the reading would be too challenging for her, I'm not sure she'd be quite old enough for the content. Maybe when she's 11 or 12.

It's a kite. It looks creepy in dark places. That's it really.

TJ and her friend Abi plant a couple of sunflower seeds each, and TJ's sister Josie, unknown to them, also plants one. The two older girls decide to have a race, to see which sunflower reaches the roof first.

The story traces the slow growth of the sunflowers, so it’s gently educational, but also has a lovely subplot involving Josie’s single seed which keeps growing in secret.

It’s intended for early readers (probably girls) but is so well written that, despite a simple and somewhat predictable storyline, it made a lovely read-aloud for my grandson, who is just three. The book is illustrated by Anna Currey, whose line drawings match the text perfectly, and the characters of the girls are nicely developed.

Definitely recommended.

Patch es el hijo de un matrimonio de piratas, que lo consideran demasiado pequeño para embarcar con ellos. Por eso, se quedará con su abuela pirata, Granny Peg, y sus mascotas, el perro Portside y el loro Pierre. Junto a ellos, mientras sus padres piensan que sigue en tierra, vivirá divertidas aventuras en el mar y se enfrentará a sus torpes enemigos, los piratas Jones y Bones.
Aprende inglés de manera divertida.
Incluye audio con la narración del texto.

Wanda Witch and the Bullies (American edition)

Originally published in the UK as Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts, this beginning reader from Scholastic - Level 3 in their Scholastic Reader system, indicating the presence of larger "chunks" of text (as opposed to shorter sentences) - Wanda Witch and the Bullies sees it eponymous heroine facing off against Gobby Gool and his bully brother at school. Never loathe to use her magic, Wanda acquits herself well, but must then contend with the Gool brothers' seven goblin cousins after school...

Although there are eight Titchy Witch titles thus far, only four of them have made it to the USA, starting with this entry (the second of the British titles) in the series. I'm not sure why Scholastic felt it was necessary to change the titles, nor am I entirely sure that I agree, based on their description of what constitutes a Level 3 reader, that this is advanced enough, but leaving aside those issues, Wanda Witch and the Bullies is a fairly engaging witchy adventure, sure to appeal to beginning reader fantasy fans and Halloween lovers.

The design of the book is lovely. It has a special 'soft' hard cover and thick pages suitable for smaller readers.The endpapers are a wonderful pastel patchwork. The use of pastel colours and white background make it uncompleted and attractive. The illustration on the front cover makes it clear that it is some kind of counting book.

The rythum of the story reminds the reader of the song 'Ten green bottles sitting on the wall'. The text is repetitious.The illustrations add to the text, with the potential of stimulating converstaion about the pictures and what the babies are doing.

This will be a delight for readers to share with younger children.

Audience: 0 - 7

This book is about a six year old boy (Joe)who is supposed to keep his eye on his baby sister Amy. But Joe is to busy making mud pies and a sloppy spider stew to watch his sister that wanders out the gate. Joe searches for his sister along with the help of his neighbors, she turns up and Joe realizes how much he loves her.

The illustrations were well done using water colors. This story is one that many children can relate to.

This book can be used to show the importance of procedures. I can have the students learn and understand the importance of the rules.

This book emphasises the comfort and joy that can be found in happy memories. Sarah's Grandma has recently died after an illness. Sarah grows bored looking through the photograph albums and takes her little brother, Jake, into the garden. They enter the shed in which Sarah remembers making feather pillows with Grandma and her mother years ago. Sarah and her mother laugh through their tears.

MRP- Rs.95