Review by Booklist Review
In a reversal of the usual fairy tale, Willow the witch follows two orange-capped children through the forest. When they start eating her orange gingerbread house with a marshmallow chimney, she invites them inside, but they won't tidy up. Then they gobble up all of the witch's delicious meal, leaving none for her. Willow did not get angry, because Willow was a good witch, echoes a refrain, but inevitably, the two push her too far: playing with her spells and wands, they change her cat into a giant feline, and shove Willow into the oven. They continue to wreak havoc until the house bursts apart. Now Willow is angry, and in a shuddering conclusion, she bakes the children into gingerbread cookies! The subtle endpapers reveal Willow's new orange castle, big enough for her and her giant cat and empty of troublemaking children. Woollvin uses a spare palette of black, gray, and orange, created with striking graphic gouache and digital illustrations. Children will enjoy comparing the traditional story to this delightfully twisted version.--Lolly Gepson Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Even a good witch has her limits, as Woollvin proves in her third twisted fairy tale following Little Red and Rapunzel. Willow, in her triangular gray cape and peaked hat combo, is a kind witch who has built herself a cozy gingerbread home. Concerned that bread crumbs being dropped by two children may lead rodents to her tasty abode, she asks Hansel and Gretel to help her pick up the debris. The self-centered kids refuse, so Willow cleans up the mess herself. "But Willow did not get angry, because Willow was a good witch." Though she graciously invites the hungry children to dinner, the twins continue to create chaos, eating all the food and breaking into Willow's store of magic props. Making a valiant attempt at remaining courteous and staying cool, Willow has finally had enough. Gray and black gouache illustrations painted on white cartridge paper are highlighted with pops of bright orange in solid blocks of color. -VERDICT The wicked children get their just desserts, and readers get a humorous and unique version of an oft-told tale. Purchase for most shelves.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Does being good mean one has to be a pushover? Woollvin (Little Red, rev. 3/16; Rapunzel, rev. 9/17) answers that question by turning the tables on the character dynamics of the classic Grimm Brothers tale. In this version, marked by sly humor and an impish sense of mischief, with minimalist gouache illustrations in a palette of blacks and grays with vivid orange accents, Hansel and Gretel are unapologetic brats, and the witch, named Willow, is a good witch. After meeting her in the forest, the siblings make their way to her gingerbread home and start snacking on its outsides. Willow invites them in, but their disrespectful behavior only intensifies. She resists her anger, even when they wreak havoc with her spells and wands, because Willow was a good witch, a repeated refrain in the entertaining text. Gretel ends up shoving the witch into the oven; Willow is able to escapebut thats the last straw. Observant readers will note the delightfully macabre cookie cutters on the books front and back covers, under the jacket. Will a twenty-first-century take on The Gingerbread Man be Woollvins next entry? Wicked fun. julie Danielson (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A new version of the Grimms' tale, told from the witch's perspective.The text immediately establishes the witch, named Willow, as a "good witch" who lives in a gingerbread house. When she encounters two children in the forest, she asks them to help clean up the trail of breadcrumbs they've left behind so it won't attract mice. Alas, they refuse, and then Willow is aghast to find them, not mice, nibbling on her house. But because she's a good witch, she doesn't get angry; instead, she invites the children inside and prepares a meal. They leave no food for her and proceed to otherwise behave badly, but she "did not get angry, because Willow was a good witch" (a refrain). The mischief culminates in the children's shoving Willow into an oven so they can have the house to themselves, and then they destroy it. Magical Willow emerges unscathedand finally angry. A wordless spread depicts her with the children in a cooking pot and ingredients and cooking implements (including gingerbread-cookie cutters like those depicted on the case cover) surrounding them. The final image, like all the rest rendered in a limited black, orange, and white color palette and a bold, graphic style, depicts a gingerbread girl and boy on a plate: Hansel and Gretel have gotten their just deserts by becoming dessert for Willow, who "wasn't ALWAYS a good witch."Delicious. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
