Witch's Child

A creator of the bestselling Mommy? and an acclaimed illustrator will BEWITCH READERS!

Who wants to be a witch's child?

When a witch wishes to have a child of her own, she creates one from straw and names her Rosalie. But when the witch tries to coax the straw girl into life, she is thwarted at every turn, until finally she abandons her inanimate creation.

Then one day while the witch is away, a young girl wanders into the witch's house. She befriends Rosalie, but she tarries too long. The witch is coming home! Who will save this young girl?

The haunting and bewitching illustrations by inspired artist Jos. A. Smith dramatically bring to life this poignant and spine-tingling story by Arthur Yorinks.

Praise for Jos. A. Smith

"[Smith's] watercolor art, embellished with pencil, watercolor pencil, and pen and ink, is dramatic and a perfect complement to the vivid prose . . ." —Kirkus

"Smith's watercolors masterfully portray all of the characters and scenes . . ." —School Library Journal

Praise for Arthur Yorinks



Author of a Caldecott Award-winning book

"Yorinks moves it all along at a good pace . . . children will enjoy . . ." —School Library Journal

"Yorinks's droll storytelling talents are perfect . . ." —Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

For readers seeking a weird and haunting autumn read, this fairy tale by Yorinks (Mommy?) and Smith (Circus Train) fits the bill. The opening illustration alone is the stuff of nightmares. A wraithlike woman, clad in a billowing inky-black dress, seems suspended face-down from a branch in an overcast forest of leafless gray trees (she is, apparently, flying). Meet Rosina, a witch who "was powerful and evil and had all there was to have-all but one thing. A child." Never mind Rosina's evident lack of maternal qualities. She crafts a daughter, from "straw and leaves and clumps of her own hair." Yet her spells fail to animate the scarecrow-girl, Rosalie, whose empty eyes and limp body are uncanny in their own right, and when real children play too roughly with the doll, Rosina transforms them into thorn bushes (Smith's images here register high on the spine-shivering scale). Like Sleeping Beauty's vines, the magic shrubs enchant would-be visitors until a compassionate girl wanders in. As the visitor cuddles Rosalie, the witch flies in the window and the doll comes to life with a vengeance; in the violent conclusion, unredeemed Rosina brandishes a butcher knife but falls into the fireplace. Yorinks's measured storytelling raises goosebumps, and Smith's surreal, full-bleed images heighten the suspense. Ages 5-9. (Oct.)

Arthur Yorinks has created a number of celebrated books for children. Among them are Mommy?, illustrated by Maurice Sendak; Hey, Al, winner of the Caldecott Medal; and Happy Bees. He is the founder and director of The Night Kitchen Radio Theater. He lives in New York City.

Jos. A. Smith has illustrated a range of books for both children and adults, among them Circus Train, which he also wrote, and Gregor Mendel, which School Library Journal called "an eye-catching picture book." He is a professor of fine arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and his work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States. He lives in Easton, Pennsylvania.