Jennifer Jordan (3)

Tired of always getting wet because of the hole in her tiled roof, and determined to use a spell to fix the problem, Tilly Witch searches for her lost Book of Spells in this beginning reader from the UK. Unable to find this magical tome, she boldly casts a spell of her own invention, only to find her roof taking off from the house, with her on it. So begins a madcap flight, as Tilly welcomes more and more creatures—seagulls, squirrels, robins, and a stranded kitten—onto her flying roof. show more When the roof eventually crashes, Tilly thinks all is lost, but her animal friends have a solution: they will build her a new thatched roof...

Published in 1990, Silly Tilly Witch was part of Brimax Books' I Can Read by Myself collection, to which author Jennifer Jordan contributed a number of other titles. It features a simple text, colorful, cartoon-style artwork from illustrator Ken Morton, and a section at the end of the book with words to repeat and objects to be identified. It is the only title in this collection I have read, and is a book I discovered and then tracked down because of my interest in witchy picture books and early readers. On the whole, I cannot say it was a huge hit with me, although I did appreciate (naturally) the witchy elements of the story. Tales of silly or gentle witches abound in picture book and beginning reader land, and this falls squarely into that category. I think young children will enjoy the revelation at the end, when it comes to the location of the lost Book of Spells, under Tilly's witch's hat. I'm not sure I strongly recommend this one—if you're looking for British beginning readers with a witchy theme, I'd go for the Titchy Witch series—but I'm glad to have read it, as part of my witchy-witches project. show less

A wonderful book of imagination and fantasy. The illustrations are visually attractive, and Albert's adventure is just believable enough to make a kid wonder!