The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children by Keith McGowan

McGowan, Keith. The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2009. 177 pages. $15.99 ISBN 9780805086683

Plot Summary: Fay Holaderry is hiding a terrible secret: she's a witch who loves to eat children. Sol and Connie come quite close to being the witch's next big meal. Will they escape in time?

Critical Evaluation: This is a really silly book, and a clever retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Classic fairy tales can fit any time period with just a few tweaks to the elements of the story like setting and modes of behavior. The story is accented here and there by illustrations that add to the dark theme of the story. There are also snippets of the witch's diary which make the turn of events even more interesting.

Reader's Annotation: All Fay Holaderry wants is a good meal, but the children keep getting away.

Author Bio: Keith has worked as a teacher for most of his adult life and has helped create tools for educators. He loves to travel and began his first book, The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children, while on a train ride in Amritsar and Himachal Pradesh, India. He continued to write in Boston, New Orleans, Chicago and in his current home in Vienna, Austria. Keith lives in Vienna with his wife.

Genre: Modern Fairy Tale

Curriculum Ties: Could be used in conjunction with a study of classic fairy tales.

Booktalking Ideas: Talk about the classic fairy tales from Perrault, the Grimm brothers and Andersen and then show books, including this one, that are modern retellings of the classics.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 4-6, ages 9-13

Challenges: None.

Reason for including: The title and cover caught my eye as I was perusing the new juvenile fiction section at the library.