Preparing for Halloween one year, Old Witch, who lived in a dark cave on a hill overlooking a farming community, finds herself spying on some schoolchildren during their classroom celebration to mark the holiday. Horrified at the "silly" party being thrown for them, with games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and bobbing for apples, she decides to throw the children a real Halloween party, one they will never forget...

The eighth entry in Ida DeLage's fourteen-book series about this witchy figure - the series began in 1966 with The Farmer and the Witch, and concluded in 1983 with The Old Witch and the Crows - The Old Witch's Party was the only title I had yet to read. Having finally tracked it down through inter-library loan (it came all the way from Indiana!), I am glad to have read it, and to have completed the series. These books are not on the sweeter end of what's available, when it comes to witchy fare, nor are they personal favorites. That said, they are often quite humorous, with some spooky elements, and I find it interesting that so many different illustrators have worked on the different books in the series. The Old Witch's Party was illustrated by Mimi Korach, who also did the artwork for The Old Witch and the Wizard. The conclusion here, in which the children run away from Grandma Petticoat, after their experiences in the witch's cave, had me chuckling. Recommended to fans of the Old Witch, or of witchy picture-books in general. ( )