Angela DiTerlizzi

"I'm seeking a witch / and everyone knows / Your skin must be green / With a wart on your nose / Should travel by broom / Wear a tall pointy hat / Love eye of newt / Adore your black cat." And so begins this adorable holiday board book from author Angela DiTerlizzi and illustrator Allie Smith. The narrator - presumably the black cat on the back cover - enumerates all the qualities a witch should have, concluding: "And you can be frightening / if you know what I mean / But just for one night show more / 'cause this night's Halloween!"

The entertaining sing-song text in Seeking a Witch is well-matched by the brightly colored illustrations, which fairly leap off the page, and which capture the fun and frights of Halloween. I imagine that some might find Allie Smith's artwork rather garish, but surprisingly, given my usual feelings about the matter - I often prefer a subtler color palette - I found the visuals here immensely appealing. Perhaps I simply associate bolder colors - deep blacks, vivid oranges - with the holiday season. Whatever the case may be, this little board-book was an undoubted winner with me, and will make a sweet addition to my 'witchy-witches' shelf. Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining Halloween fare for babies and toddlers. show less

A cranky book doesn't want to be read. And the first few pages manage to have a lot of fun with this concept. But suddenly a bunch of other books show up, and we're supposed to believe FOMO has the cranky book questioning his attitude when they are all willing to jump right into story time.

By the end, the boldly cranky book has become quite pathetic. Sad.

The creators need to study up on Oscar the Grouch a bit more.

Really fun look at a kid's favorite book that has been customized. While I do not advocate defiling a library book of course, no matter how much I disagree with any aspect of it (besides, I can vent to more people on GoodReads), I am heartily in favor of people owning books and enjoying them however they see fit. I do not dog ear my books, try not to break the spines, keep them properly housed on shelves for the most part. I even take off the dust jacket while I'm reading a hardcover, show more although that's mostly because they are slippy and annoying. Nor do I write in my books, not even my name. But that's me. Other people are welcome to do wildly different things. I can't even get upset about the deliberate and willful destruction of books by individuals or libraries. Burning is wrong of course because global warming, fire safety, etc. But I've seen fun crafts and beautiful art made from books and I am well aware that while some books may be sacred, there are an awful lot that don't even come within hailing distance of the nominally functional.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Fun book, vibrant art, props for including a Black princess with a white knight.

Library copy show less

"Bored, ignored, or feeling down? / Need some fancy in your town? / Want some shine upon your crown? / Just add glitter!" So begins the narrative of this fun rhyming picture-book romp, which follows a young craft-oriented girl and her pet cat, who get a box of glitter in the mail, and proceed to go a little wild. Is there such a thing as too much glitter though...?

Pairing an entertaining read-aloud text from author Angela DiTerlizzi with immensely appealing multimedia artwork - featuring show more lots of glitter, or course - from illustrator Samantha Cotterill, Just Add Glitter is the perfect picture-book for young children who love (you guessed it) a bit of sparkle. I found the scene in which the young heroine and her cat are all but buried in piles of glitter particularly droll, and appreciated the ending, in which a new box waits on the doorstep. Recommended to children who love sparkly, glittery things. show less