We love The Green-Fingered Witch, a fabulous rhyming picture book which is the perfect read for Halloween.
The Story: The new class of witches has started but one of them, Cress, struggles with broomstick flying and spell making. After a long first night at school she seeks solace in her vegetable garden. Cress’s school struggles continue and she dreads Halloween when they’ll all get to show off what they’ve learnt. But disaster strikes when Ms Birch loses her voice and can’t make a spell when the pumpkins aren’t delivered. Can Cress and her green fingers save Halloween?
We empathise with Cress from the moment she’s late for witch school on her first night. Her hair is too clean and she doesn’t have a hat but at least her fingers are green! Cress might not be the best in the class but she’s grown an impressive range of vegetables including spring greens, potatoes, garlic, peas and a huge crop of pumpkins! We love the way that Cress ultimately proves that even if she can’t be good at school subjects she has her own unique talent that can be used to support and help others in difficulty – a wonderfully positive message for us all!
The easy to read rhyming text is complemented by Steven Lenton’s wonderfully atmospheric illustrations. Spooky blues and autumn browns perfectly reflect the Halloween season and they include so many humorous details. Our favourite is Cress’s crooked house at sunrise – we love the witchy weather vane and the owl sitting in the foreground.
The Green-Fingered Witch is a fabulous book to introduce children to the fun of gardening and is a fabulous autumn read. It can stimulate discussions about how we can’t always be good at everything but we all have our own unique gifts. It would also make a great stimulus for a Halloween display or a pumpkin craft session.
Age Range: 3+
Author: Helen Docherty / Illustrator: Steven Lenton
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