Ida DeLage

When gypsies descend upon them, Ma and Pa Farmer, who first appeared in Ida DeLage's The Farmer and the Witch, and then reprised their role in The Old Witch Goes to the Ball, are dismayed, rushing to hide all of their livestock. Their efforts prove futile, however, when Ma's old gray goose and Pa's rooster go missing. Following the gypsies to their camp in the meadow, and being met with obviously false denials, they are in the midst of a full confrontation when the Old Witch of Hill emerges show more from her cave and rains down destruction upon all. Enraged at the theft of her cauldron, she shatters the Gypsy Queen's crystal ball, and sends showers of insects. Softened by the destitution of their erstwhile enemies, and (perhaps) ashamed of their similarity to the Old Witch, Ma and Pa decide that sharing is more important than "counting things," and all ends happily.

The sixth entry in DeLage's series of fourteen picture-books chronicling the misadventures of the crotchety Old Witch, and the ninth that I have read, Beware! Beware! A Witch Won't Share is an odd little book, switching rather abruptly from being a stereotypical story of thieving gypsies, to a feel-good, kumbaya-singing, let's-all-get-along tale of building bridges between communities. And all because of the Old Witch! Is the message here that having a common enemy can bring disparate people together? Or is it that sometimes, in order to find our better selves, we need a mirror held up to us? If witches won't share, and neither will Ma and Pa, are Ma and Pa just as selfish as the Old Witch - that hillside pest who gives them such trouble? Whatever the case may be, this was an interesting read. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it - the beginning had me irritated by its stereotypes, the ending by its sentimentally unrealistic happily-ever-after - but it was certainly a suitably quirky end to my reading of this quirky series, as the other four titles are not available through my library. It remains to be seen whether my completist tendencies have me trying to track down (through ILL, or through purchase) the remaining titles, the next time I turn to my witchy-witches project... show less

Ida DeLage, a picture-book author who created the fourteen-volume Old Witch series, published from 1966 through 1983, spins an enchanting stand-alone fairy-tale in this 1968 story of Weeny Witch. Small and not particularly fierce, Weeny Witch stands out from her peers, and provokes the ire of the Queen of the Witches, when she is late for a midnight meeting. When the witches plot to capture and destroy the Night Fairies, who light the stars each night, Weeny Witch ends up foiling their show more plans, helping the fairies to escape. Taken with them to Fairyland, she discovers that she is no witch, but a stolen fairy-child, who is welcomed back by the Fairy Queen, and renamed Silverwing...

Having read all fourteen of DeLage's Old Witch picture-books, as well as her ABC Halloween Witch, but never having managed to track down Weeny Witch, which I have always understood to be one of the author's best stories, I was quite happy when my local library was able to obtain a copy through inter-library loan. Huzzah for librarians! I enjoyed the story here a great deal, probably the best of any witchy tale I have read from DeLage, and I found Kelly Oeschli's accompanying illustrations charming. The witches are depicted in a truly creepy way, while the fairies are delightfully cute. This is a difficult book to track down, but if one can find a copy, I believe readers who enjoy witchy tales (as I do) will find it quite entertaining. show less

When a sleepy bear invades her hillside cave, dropping off to sleep despite all of her efforts to rouse him and evict him from her home, the eponymous Old Witch is driven almost wild by his snores. Every stratagem she employs to wake the ursine intruder, or to put a stop to his snoring proves futile, until finally she involves a far-off giant, offering him some of her brew in exchange for his services in removing the bear. When her home is finally cleared, the Old Witch herself drops off to show more sleep and (of course!) begins to snore...

The fourth picture-book devoted to the doings of the Old Witch - Ida DeLage's series began in 1966 with The Farmer and the Witch, and concluded in 1984 with the fourteenth title, The Old Witch and the Crows - The Old Witch and the Snores is also the second to be illustrated by Gil Miret. The story here is moderately engaging, although not really a stand-out. When it comes to witchy picture-books, this entire series isn't really a stand-out, although I do find it interesting that the Old Witch, although rarely depicted as evil, is also almost never depicted as sweet. Recommended primarily to those who have read and enjoyed other books in Ida DeLage's series about this crotchety old witch. show less

The Old Witch returns in this seventh picture-book devoted to her adventures, carefully shielding the secret of her magic brew from Wizard, who shows up one day in front of her cave, his extraordinary cat in tow, and the offer of a trade in mind. Despite being impressed by Wizard's feline companion, and his superior fire-starting abilities, Old Witch remains firm, refusing to part with her cherished recipe. Fortunately, her own cat is also rather impressed, and soon a litter of three kittens show more appears. Does Old Witch really need four cats? At first she thinks not, but then their unusual abilities surface...

It's not an accident that The Old Witch and the Wizard is my favorite thus far, of all the Old Witch books I have read! As a confirmed cat-lover, I appreciated the many moments of feline enchantment here, from the charming courtship going on right in front of the oblivious Old Witch and Wizard, to the scenes in which the kittens chase around the cave, causing adorable confusion. The artwork, done by Mimi Korach - each volume in the series seems to be illustrated by a different artist - has an appealing cartoon-like style, and is sometimes quite amusing. Needless to say, I particularly liked the scenes depicting the cats. show less