The Witch's Child
Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal -- School Library Journal, 10/29/2007
From SLJ October 2007
YORINKS, Arthur. The Witch’s Child. illus. by Jos A. Smith. unpaged. CIP. Abrams. Oct. 2007. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8109-9349-5. LC 2006031980.
Gr 1-4–Rosina, a “cruel and absolutely heartless” witch, longs for a child and, on an October night, cobbles one together out of straw, leaves, and “clumps of her own hair.” However, despite the woman’s powerful spells, Rosalie remains lifeless. One spring day, Rosina sees some children playing in a nearby field and carries her daughter outside, thinking that the interaction might awaken her. But the youngsters handle Rosalie too roughly and the angry witch turns them into “stunted and prickly” bushes and tosses the straw girl next to the dustbin. The following September, Lina, an “inquisitive” child, sneaks into Rosina’s house, finds Rosalie, mends her, and gives her “the one thing she never had–the warmth of a loving heart.” When Rosina returns and prepares to eat the intruder for dinner, it is Rosalie who saves her, destroying the terrifying witch and setting things to right. Yorinks’s flowing language is evocative, and the plot builds steadily to an exciting climax. Smith’s detailed paintings depict Rosina with jet-black standing-on-end hair and exaggerated facial features that vividly–and frighteningly–express her emotions. With limp limbs, vacant expression, and leafy hands, Rosalie’s appearance is also unsettling, while the images of pleasant-looking, colorfully clothed children being transformed into and out of their dark thorny forms is downright creepy. Although the happy-ever-after ending–illustrated in warm autumn hues–is reassuring, this book is not for the faint of heart. Share it with readers who like truly scary stories.
