Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts

Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts (original British edition)

Titchy-witch confronts Gobby-goblin and his bully brother in this early reader from British author/illustrator team Rose Impey and Katharine McEwen, the second in a series of twelve devoted to her witchy adventures. Using her spells in retaliation for the goblin brothers' actions, and again when their seven boggart cousins show up after school, she is uncowed, and while she accepts her feline companion Cat-a-bogus' reprimand for not waiting for him by the school gates, she is already planning her next salvo in her war with her schoolyard enemies...

A number of years ago I read the Americanized edition of this book, Wanda Witch and the Bullies, and found it an engaging little show more witchy confection, perfect for beginning readers with a taste for such fare. That being said, I never went on to read the rest of the books in the series, either the three others published in the USA, or the rest, only ever published in the UK. Having recently begun reading the entire series, in the UK editions, I am able to compare this original, Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts, to the American edition. Reading them side-by-side, I can pick out some minor differences in language and vocabulary—Titchy-witch turning one of the goblin brother's noses into a sausage here, but a hot-dog in the American edition, for example. The major difference seems to be the change in the heroine's name, from Titchy-Witch to Wanda Witch, and the transformation of boggarts into goblins. I find the former unnecessary and the latter unfortunate. Boggarts are creatures of English folklore, and while they might not be as well-known in the states as goblins, I don't see why they couldn't be included. One more chance lost, for children here to learn something new, something they might appreciate knowing later on in their reading lives, when they encounter boggarts in works like the Harry Potter books, or in traditional folktales. There were a few other places where the changes made struck me as arising from a culturally specific didactic impulse—when the boggart cousins appear here, they are described as traveling in a gang because "they're so stupid they'd get lost on their own," a sentence left out of the American edition altogether—but on the whole, the two most obtrusive changes were to the heroine's name, and to the type of creature she confronts.

In any case, leaving that all aside, I found this an entertainingly witchy tale, and a worthy follow-up to Titchy Witch and the Birthday Broomstick. Recommended to fans of the character, and to beginning readers who enjoy stories about witches. show less

Wanda Witch and the Bullies (American edition)

Originally published in the UK as Titchy Witch and the Bully Boggarts, this beginning reader from Scholastic - Level 3 in their Scholastic Reader system, indicating the presence of larger "chunks" of text (as opposed to shorter sentences) - Wanda Witch and the Bullies sees it eponymous heroine facing off against Gobby Gool and his bully brother at school. Never loathe to use her magic, Wanda acquits herself well, but must then contend with the Gool brothers' seven goblin cousins after school...

Although there are eight Titchy Witch titles thus far, only four of them have made it to the USA, starting with this entry (the second of the British titles) in the series. I'm not sure why Scholastic show more felt it was necessary to change the titles, nor am I entirely sure that I agree, based on their description of what constitutes a Level 3 reader, that this is advanced enough, but leaving aside those issues, Wanda Witch and the Bullies is a fairly engaging witchy adventure, sure to appeal to beginning reader fantasy fans and Halloween lovers. show less