I LOVE this book! Read it every year. ( )

British author and illustrator Malcolm Bird presents a deliciously creepy, ghoulishly gross handbook for witches in this entertaining volume. The book is divided into eleven chapters, featuring such topics as: Choosing and Furnishing a Home / The Witch's Kitchen / The Witch's Garden / Fortune-Telling and the Zodiac / Casting Spells / Old Wives' Tales / Staying Beautiful / The Fashionable Witch / Hobbies and Crafts / Festivities / The Modern Witch. Many of these chapters have activities for the young reader to participate in, whether it be the recipes included in the kitchen chapter (both witch and non-witch ingredients listed!), or the craft ideas in the one devoted to hobbies. The section on fortune-telling includes an acrostic puzzle that could provide hours of entertainment. Many of the pages are formatted like a comic-book, divided into panels, whereas others feature full-page illustrations and text. Holidays such as Halloween and Christmas are covered - the former a time of celebration, the latter a time to annoy others - and the book concludes with a three-page index...

There is plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor in The Witch's Handbook, which reminded me in parts of Annie Civardi and Graham Philpot's The Wacky Book of Witches. The cross-section view here of the witch's house, in particular, put me in mind of the similar (but more detailed) scene from the Civardi/Philpot title, which was a welcome association. I loved so many of the little witchy details here, from the poisonous toadstool section of the garden to the various doorstep charms that could be used to keep witches out. I was fascinated by the section on Old Wives' Tales, and wondered how many of these superstitions and folk beliefs were still around, in one form or another. The international witches section, in which witches from different countries are depicted, probably wouldn't fly today (the book was first published in 1984), but was hilarious to peruse. As someone who has always loved Monday's Child, the classic English fortune-telling song based upon the day of the week one was born, my favorite part here was the witchy version of said song:

"Monday's Witch Is Foul of Face
Tuesday's Witch Is a Disgrace
Wednesday's Witch Is Long of Nose
Thursday's Witch Has Extra Toes
Friday's Witch Bakes Poisoned Pies
Saturday's Witch Has Evil Eyes
But the Witch That Was Born
On the Sabbath Day
Tends to Smell...
So Keep Away!"

Ah! I couldn't stop laughing, when I read that! All in all, an entertaining little volume, one I would not doubt have cherished, given my fondness for witchy fare, had I first encountered it as a child. The level of detail is impressive, the illustrations have a wacky, witchy charm, and the accompanying recipe and craft ideas will make for lots of interactive fun. What's not to enjoy? ( )

Awesome book, funny with cool and creepy activities too ( )

Thorough, and utterly beguiling. I especially loved the spread 'witches worldwide,' most esp. the stereotypes for Canada and Finland. Def, not politically correct to people who wear dentures, or to older women, or to Pagan 'white' witches, but I found it impossible to take offense - it's just too cute. ( )

Un llibre imprescindible per a tots aquells i aquelles fascinats per les bruixes, les pocions, els encanteris i els maleficis. Adreçat als nois i noies a partir dels 9 anys, barreja l'humor amb les curiositats del món màgic.