Fumbling Through Fantasy: Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, illustrated by Helen Stone (1953)

Minikin ("Minx") is the daughter of the much-feared witch Madam Snickasnee, who turns innocent children into flower pots, stirs up dangerous brews in her cauldron and refuses to allow her only child to attend school. Minx shares none of her mother's terrible qualities, however, and she is determined to do things her own way. When she begins going to school against her mother's wishes, Minx makes some new friends, and together they all try to use Madam Snickasnee's potions to conjure up a fairy who might be able to help them turn her flower pots back into children and maybe even rescue Minx from her unhappy home life.

I read this book aloud to my three and five year old daughters in the days just before Halloween, and they were completely riveted. Myself, I was more amused by how old-fashioned the book felt and by how easily I was able to predict what was going to happen next. I did like that this witch was a complete villain, not just someone who was misunderstood, and I also appreciated that she received a fitting villain's comeuppance. I think sometimes it's good for kids to hear a story where good and evil are clearly delineated and evil is given the proper punishment. I also enjoyed all the different fantastical characters who popped out of the pot while Minx and her friends were hoping for a fairy. It was a fun way for my girls to learn about things like nixies and centaurs and the Pied Piper. The ending also does a nice job of resolving the book's tension in a way that isn't scary for young readers.

I also really enjoyed the vintage illustrations, which are simple pen and ink drawings. They break up the text nicely and really help explain how the magic pot works, and also give faces to the children who become Minx's friends, as well as to their kindly grandmother who serves as a surrogate caretaker for Minx. Even in the ebook edition, which is all we have, my kids were eager to look at each one and to decide which figure in each illustration was meant to be which character.

This was a decent one-time read-aloud. I don't think we'll make it a tradition, as there are other Halloween-themed books we may enjoy more, but I won't hesitate to read it again when my youngest daughter is ready to hear some chapter books in a few years. It's a solid three-star book that added a little festivity to our fall.