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TWITCHY WITCHY ITCH

Name: TWITCHY WITCHY ITCH
Author: Priscilla Tey
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8981-0

by Priscilla Tey ; illustrated by Priscilla Tey ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2021

Cleverly rendered lesson in the perils of witchy housekeeping.

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In an effort to clean her house, a young witch goes too far.

Expecting her two “witchy neighbors” for tea in 10 minutes, Itch worries her house might be a “wee bit too twitchy” and “too itchy,” so she frantically dusts and sweeps. With only four minutes remaining, Itch decides there’s still too much itching and casts a spell ordering the “itching and twitching, be gone with a swoosh.” As the clock chimes “tea o’clock,” witch Fidget arrives, and “things in the house [start] to scramble and shift.” Itch feels her brain itch and her fingers twitch. Then witch Glitch appears, and “things in the house [start] to slip and slide,” causing Itch to itch and twitch even more. Itch swooshes another house spell, eliminating the “fidgeting” and “glitching” but also removing Fidget and Glitch. Alone in her spell-cleaned house, Itch wonders if she should just abandon her spells and enjoy her fidgeting and glitching guests. With the clock repetitively ticking away, the text evokes urgency and frenzy, effectively reinforced by lively, comic illustrations populated with kinetic scenes of Itch dusting, sweeping, and swooshing spells. Itch’s house bristles with squiggly black lines representing her itching and twitching. When Fidget arrives, she appears blurred, and Itch’s possessions visually scramble and shift; exaggeratedly pixelated Glitch seems to physically slip and slide along with everything in Itch’s house. All three witches appear White.

Cleverly rendered lesson in the perils of witchy housekeeping. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 13, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8981-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
COUNTING IN DOG YEARS AND OTHER SASSY MATH POEMS
by Betsy Franco ; illustrated by Priscilla Tey

- BOOK REVIEW
IN-BETWEEN THINGS
by Priscilla Tey ; illustrated by Priscilla Tey

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING

by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...

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Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.

First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)