School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Tegan, a witch's daughter, is hurrying home so as not to be late for Trick or Treat, but a large, fearsome warthog is blocking the gate to her house. Though too young to perform magic, she decides to try a few spells to move the animal. First, she commands a passing dog to bite it, but her magic fails and the dog says no. She adds to the spell, and each addition gets more violent, until she is chanting: "Match, match burn stick. Stick, stick beat dog. Dog, dog bite warthog so I can get home in time for Trick or Treat." But all refuse to obey her bossy demands. Fortunately, an old man comes by and teaches the girl about the art of persuasion. After some practice, she convinces him to throw the match at the stick and begin her spell. The final picture shows Tegan's mom putting away an old-man disguise before taking her daughter trick or treating. Single-page, bright, overly busy illustrations do little to enhance the choppy text. Readers may be disturbed to find that instead of finding another way to rouse the warthog, the "old man" goes with Tegan's "last resort" spell of beating the dog with a burning stick to get him to bite off the warthog's tail.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A witch's daughter fetches a bucket of water but a warthog impedes the path to her front door. "Too young to cast spells," she wonders how to dispose of the beast. She attempts a series of spells anyway, uttered as bossy commands that work no magic ("Stick, stick beat dog. Dog, dog bite warthog so I can get home in time for Trick or Treat"). Finally, an "old man" suggests she try "persuasion"; his suggestion works, setting off a chain of rather nasty effects that nonetheless achieve the girl's desired results. Atwell's (Pearl) artwork is oddly inconsistent here, and does little to buoy the mean-spirited message. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
