Betty Ann Batsworth was looking forward to her first day at witch school, but she soon discovered that her classmates considered her a bit of a pipsqueak, nicknaming her "Itty Bitty" because of her small size. No matter how many times Betty corrected them, telling them her real name, they persisted with this moniker, which made her feel very small indeed. Then Betty had an idea: if she could win the school's Halloween Dash, and fly faster than all of the other witches, they would have to take her seriously. But how could a little witch, with a little broom that simply wouldn't fly as swiftly as she would like, ever do such a thing...?

I was not familiar with either author Trisha Speed Shaskan or illustrator Xindi Yan when picking up The Itty-Bitty Witch, which I tracked down largely because an online friend reviewed it, and because I have a strong interest in witchy picture-books. I enjoyed the story, and found the artwork appealing, but somehow the overall product was lacking that special something that would have elevated this to the status of a favorite. Perhaps it was the writing, which felt a little clunky - there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, but I also wasn't charmed, or drawn in by it. The friend who recommended this one had issues with the resolution of the storyline - was Betty cheating, by flying through the cave? - and for the most part I agree with her assessment of the matter. There is something problematic about Betty's actions, I think, because she does not follow the same course as the others in the race. On the other hand, I thought the story did an excellent job highlighting how name calling and bullying, even if not extreme, can make the targeted child feel small and sad and alone. In short, I had mixed feelings about this one, and ended up finding Xindi Yan's artwork the most enjoyable part of the book. If not for them, this might have been a 2 or 2.5-star title for me. ( )