What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen?
by Nick Sharratt
(Walker Books) £9.99
Take a walk around the witch’s kitchen with her black cat as guide in this fun, rhyming book that gives readers a trick (nasty) or treat (tasty) depending on which way they open the flap on each spread. So for instance, the toaster could surprise you if you
Open it left or open it right,
Will it make your mouth water
Or turn your hair white?
revealing ‘a grumpy, burnt ghost’ or some crunchy hot toast’.
Or you might find ‘biscuits and cakes’ or ‘spiders and snakes’ in the biscuit tin.
The appropriately garish, ghoulish illustrations with witch friendly decorations and designs provide further visual treats. Perfect for Hallowe’en.
(reviewed by Jill Bennett)
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A Calendar of Festivals
by Cherry Gilchrist and Helen Cann
(Barefoot Books)
For each of the eight festivals in this book, there’s a page about the festival itself and a story, which often tells the origin of the celebration. The colour illustrations on nearly every page fit well with the origins of each story and help to break up the text, which is aimed at confident readers of 8+. The stories are long, but read aloud well so could also be used with younger children.
The festivals covered are Purim, Holi, Vesak, Tanabata, Hallowe’en, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year.
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Let’s Celebrate: Festival Poems
Selected by John Foster
(Oxford University Press)
Each of the poems in this anthology relates to a specific festival. Starting with First Footing on New Year’s Eve, it works its way through the year to Christmas covering many other festivals in the process, some well known, others less so. The festivals come from all over the world and there’s a short explanation of each one on the appropriate page. This well chosen and well presented selection is fun for children to read on their own and a useful resource for teachers.
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