Yannick D Murphy

The Cold Water Witch by Yannick Murphy, illustrated by Tom Lintern isn't really Halloween fare, but it has a fairly creepy witch, so it's going in this stack. An evil and yet rather enchanting icy queen attempts to lure a little girl into coming with her to her frozen kingdom. In a series of clever tricks, the little girl outsmarts the witch and finally melts her completely, revealing the lonely little girl trapped inside.

There are some strong passages in the story; some of the language describing the cold lands is lovely and the little girl has some brisk and funny dialogue. The plot is weak though - the cold water witch's sudden melting doesn't make sense, since earlier in the story the little girl was trapped when she touched the witch, then the second time the witch is melted. The fairy tale elements such as pushing the witch into the refrigerator instead of the oven, are clever but there are too many different parts to the story that don't fit well together.

The illustrations fit the storyline well - Lintern's pencil and Photoshop technique creates lacy art that's perfect for the icy landscapes and characters, as well as giving the little girl a simultaneously realistic and fanciful air. An additional purchase if you need more quasi-fairy tale stories… (plus d'informations)