Colin and Jacqui Hawkins present this picture-book guide to witches, pairing an amusing text with detailed, deliciously creepy illustrations. Beginning with a description of a typical witch - a woman of great age, wrinkled face, furrowed brow, scolding tongue, and so on - the book encourages the reader to question whether their own granny might be one, offering a series of questions to help in determining the truth. Witches (and grannies) need lots of love, and the rest of the book is dedicated to various witchy topics - animal familiars, the witch's home, witchy hygiene habits, witchy fashion, witch cuisine, the witch's shopping schedule, magical gardening, spell-casting, magical cures, the social dynamics of witch society, broom-flying and other modes of witchy transportation, and Halloween fun - that will help the reader to understand them better. The book closes with some helpful witchy facts...

First published in 1981, Witches is one of a number of picture-book guides from this husband-and-wife team to explore the world of different fascinating figures, including Spooks, Monsters, Vampires and Pirates. I was drawn to it because witchy picture-books and early readers are a pet project of mine, and because I enjoyed the Hawkins' subsequent Wizzie Witch (1999), which also offers a catalogue/guide to the witchy lifestyle. It's a shame I didn't encounter this as a child - it was definitely around when I was a girl - because I suspect that I would have greatly enjoyed poring over it, looking at all of the humorous illustrations, appreciating all the little jokes that are included. The text itself is quite interesting, not just for its entertaining mixture of humor and witchy "facts," but because it ties the figure of the witch and the grandmother together, and makes the argument that, for the most part, witches were/are good. As the narrator says, "on the whole, witches have usually practiced their arts to good purpose," and are "warm, sincere human beings." High praise indeed! Recommended to all the little witches and witch-lovers out there, and to fans of the Hawkins' distinctive art style. ( )

I found this book on a trip to visit my brother in England. It's a children's book, but I just sort of fell in love with it. I consider it to be mine, not my kids'. It's sort an "all about" witches book. ( )