Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1993)
A long, agreeably spooky tale in which two loyal tomcats rout a trio of witches who've invaded a desolate site overlooking a peaceful Highland village. Each witch in turn places an impossible order with a local tradesman ("A big iron bed...And I want it tonight"); when a man refuses, his child is found, next morning, mouse-bitten and in a lifeless trance--the good cats, bewitched by the singing of the mice, have been unable to stand guard. When a third child is threatened, the cats bravely trail the witches (who turn into cats) and kill them. Then--following the advice of a wise woman--they restore the children. In Barrett's precise, eerie paintings, the witches look especially wicked as sinuously elongated cats--an elegant foil for the angelic children and charmingly ordinary feline heroes. Try pairing this intriguing tale with Barber's The Mousehole Cat (1990). 1993, Dial, $14.99. © 1993 Kirkus Reviews

Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Aug. 1993 (Vol. 89, No. 22))
This is a multi-book review: See also the title Ragged Shadows. "On a stormy night, when wolves still roamed the Highlands, three witches came to Glenmagraw." From the first line, Nimmo's lyrical version of a Celtic tale draws you close against the fearful outside. Three wicked strangers come to town; they demand that impossible tasks be done; and suddenly children are held fast in a terrible enchantment. The strangers are witches who turn themselves into cats with razor-sharp claws and teeth that sink into the very bone. But two brave domestic tomcats go out into the dark forest and defeat the monsters in a fight to the death. Barrett's light-filled paintings of family and pets in the orderly village are set against the dark swirling monster world of storm and wolves, black and fiery red. Great storytelling for a dark and stormy night. Category: For the Young. 1993, Dial, $14.99. Ages 4-8.