Happy Halloween from Witches Wendy and Dorrie

Back in 1967, when I was a small child, Dorrie and the Witch Doctor was published, and I thought all of Patricia Coombs' Dorrie books were so fun. Dorrie is such a cute witch with her upturned nose.

In this book, Dorrie's grouchy and complaining Aunt Agra comes to visit. She complains about everything, and soon, little Dorrie with the mismatched socks that Aunt Agra gripes about is sick. Big Witch calls the Witch Doctor and he comes to hopefully solve all their woes.

I love the detailed illustrations in this book. Dorrie's cat Gink is the cutest cat ever and is always by her side.

The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches, written by Alice Low and illustrated by Karen Gundersheimer was first published in 1978, so I didn't meet this book until I was a bit older. This book has been revised - in a good way. Wendy's sisters were given names, and a new illustrator was hired. Although the old pictures are cute, the new ones are also very good. Jane Manning is the illustrator of the new edition.

In this story, Wendy's sisters aren't very nice to her. They won't teach her to fly or even take her flying on their brooms. They won't teach her spells, so Wendy is unable to be witchy at all. She loses her broom, and now the little bit of magic she had is gone. Her sisters leave her behind on Halloween night, and Wendy meets a ghostly friend who is out trick-or-treating. Wendy's luck is about to change and her sisters better watch out.

Have a happy and safe Halloween, and may all the witches, ghosts, and goblins you meet tonight practice good magic. Create magic of your own and read to a child today even if that child is you.