I laughed out loud at the last page - this is such a cute book and I highly recommend it to the young and young-at-heart alike, to witchy folks and pagan peeps - it's so adorable. I bought it for myself but I know I would have loved the text and the pictures when I was a kid. :) ( )

One Witch is brilliantly clever as it carries you through a spooky Halloween setting where a witch plans her party and invites her guests. Each page introduces a different character who will be a guest at her party, along with providing cues for learning to count the numbers from 1-10. From one cat up to ten werewolves, the witch gathers materials for her frightful stew. Her guests include cats, scarecrows, goblins, vampires, mummies, owls, ghosts, skeletons, and werewolves, and then she invites "you" too! Absolutely wonderful and spooky images adorn the pages in ink and watercolor on watercolor paper. A fantastic book for reading along with in a classroom while practicing counting and rhyming.

One witch with an empty pot has a plan. As she visits all her friends, each provides a tasty, ghoulish ingredient for to fill her pot. When she finally has enough items to create a spooktacular stew, she sends out invitations. Cats, ghouls, mummies, and vampires are all eager to sample the delectable dish, but there's something missing. You'll never guess what it is unless you check out this spooky tale.

The Bottom Line: This creative, Halloween-themed take on the classic Stone Soup folktale is super fun to read. Kids will enjoy counting up to ten and back down again with Leuck's spooky and silly rhymes. Children and adults alike will delight in Schindler's wonderful ink and watercolor illustrations which are colorful and detailed, but not too scary. This is one picture book you'll read over and over again with your little ones. Also, highly recommended for storytime for children in Kindergarten and Grade 1.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

This is a cute, Halloween time book about a witch who flies around town gathering some crazy ingredients for her lovely stew she wants to prepare. She proceeds to make the stew and invites all of her friends over for a dinner party. The illustrations are so detailed, and the perfect combination of creepy/weird and funny. This book would definitely keep the attention of a young audience!

This counting book has a witch flying all around to gather nasty ingredients for a stew from her creepy friends. She makes the stew and invites her friends over for a party.

I love the illustrations! I think they do a great job of being creepy and a little silly, which is the right balance for such a young audience. I love all of the details in the illustrations, which will delight kids and capture their attention. I like how the ingredients for the witch's stew are gross and gruesome, two things children love. The repetitive structure, rhyme, and rhythm are perfect for getting children engaged and helping them to be involved in the reading. ( )