Author: John E. Brewton and Lorraine A. Blackburn
Copyright Date: 1980
Title: In the Witches kitchen
Illustrator: Harriett Barton and Thomas Y. Crowell
Publisher: Garrard Publishing Company
Tags: Spooky
Genre: Poems
Grade: 1st and up
Rate: 3
Reading log #8
This book was probably the most entertaining overall for this second set of journal entries. Maybe because it was because they were all poem about Halloween and it is just around the corner, but it definitely got me into the spirit. As far as actual content of all the poems that were presented in this book, not all of them were the best in my opinion. There were a couple that I thought were funny or amusing and even interesting but as it can be sometimes I wasn’t a fan of them all.
When it came to the illustrations I think that they were very well done. I think for a children’s book they made them “scary” yet kept them very age appropriate. Another think I liked about the poems was the variety that they had. Some about witches, others haunted houses and even some about pumpkins, allowing the reader to find something that they may be interested in. I don’t believe that there is a real overarching message to this book other than enjoying Halloween. Maybe just taking a holiday that is traditionally scary and putting their own relatively comical twist to it, making it unique in and of itself. ( )

38 months - O thought it was very funny and would tell me which food she'd rather eat each time. This was a library book and the openings were often torn and in bad shape so it might not be a great choice for a kid that is hard on their books. ( )

British children's author and illustrator Nick Sharratt delivers a fun-filled witchy lift-the-flap adventure with this latest book aimed at younger children! Just in time for Halloween comes What's in the Witch's Kitchen?, which provides two answers to its own question: one naughty, and one nice. (Oops! Sorry, wrong holiday!). With clever accordion-style flaps, that reveal one image when lifted one way, and another when pulled in the other, young readers are in for both trick and treat!

Although quite familiar with Sharratt's name, I can't think of any other work by him that I have happened to read. I wouldn't say that this first foray has completely blown me away, but I did find it pleasantly engaging, and I imagine young children will enjoy lifting these flaps, and trying to figure out how they can be lifted on both sides, to reveal different images. Recommended to those looking for Halloween appropriate titles for the younger, pop-up book set! ( )

This is an amazing interactive book to get children excited about books and Halloween. Each page the option to go one way or the other in the pictures. Letting the children decide which way to turn the photo really gets them paying attention and enjoying the book. The same scheme is followed throughout the book about "left or right?". This could also teach children which way is left and right. The illustrations are bright, fun, and cartoon-like. I would highly recommend this book for story time for a pre-k class. I personally had a phenomenal time reading this to children and having them react so enthusiastically. ( )

This lift-the-flap book is in rhyming form, and it is cool! The first page has a fridge that can open to the left or right. (“Will you like what you see? Or will it give you a fright?”) If you open it from the left, you find bats with fleas, but if you open it from the right, you find tasty cheese – it rhymes! Each page will keep readers guessing about the contents (Nasty! Goblin’s PEE!! Nice! Strawberry TEA). It’s got all the right elements to keep readers interested, including gross-out factor, and also reinforces the directions LEFT and RIGHT and UP and DOWN. Very clever and very cool!