![]() There is all kinds of mishaps and headslaps that come when you let a witch in your life and this book bounds with fun and mayhem. A fun and whimsical book that is perfect to ease into Halloween. ![]() Shenanigans ensue as the witch returns for her cat, there are magical scissors, wild roller skates and pointy hats galore. Hilda leaves in a huff, and in the process leaves behind her talking cat whom the family takes in and names Cinders. Hilda tries to get in the home under the ruse of a housecleaner, but is turned away by a wary Mary Jane who is certain the woman on the other side of her door is a witch. Atop her vacuum named James, she rides with her black cat when she catches the scent of mischief originating from the home of Mary Jane Brooks, a little girl home alone while her mother is at the market. It is then when she cascades down from the witch village searching for trouble. Hilda the witch is a Wednesday Witch meaning her magic is at its peak on a Wednesday. While that witch gives me the willies, The Wednesday Witch is far from scary. I pull it out and read it every now and again, reminiscing about my childhood and grandma’s witch as I turn the pages. In fact, I still have my original battered copy. Published nearly twenty years before I was even born, it remains one of my treasured books to this day. The first chapter book I ever read was The Wednesday Witch by Ruth Chew. (The book was first published in 1969 so this is the time when Mary Jane wears dresses to school, when her mother runs the house and her father is away at work, and when young Mary Jane is allowed to go on a picnic with her best friend on Saturday sans grown-ups.) All in all, a fun, quick read perhaps not brilliant literature, but winsome for its creativity and I think young readers will enjoy the little details (like Mary Jane taking care of the miniature cat, and how the cat is very wise and always hungry and helping Mary Jane with her homework) and how Mary Jane ultimately deals with the Wednesday Witch. And I liked how the mom, at first reluctant to have a cat in the house, ended up liking the cat and called her Cinders because she helps the mother dust, like Cinderella might -) I think this story could be enjoyed by contemporary children (especially those who like cats and dollhouses) but there is definitely some retro charm here, too. I especially enjoyed the ones involving the cat (magically miniaturized) inhabiting the pretty new dollhouse Mary Jane got from her aunt. Many funny and odd little adventures ensue. And she is surprised and delighted to find the black cat the witch accidentally leaves behind. Soon, a witch with a vacuum arrives on Mary Jane's doorstep, attracted to the smell of mischief! Mary Jane knows not to open the door to strangers, and when she sees the witch fly away on her vacuum, she is at once frightened and intrigued. A bottle of her mother's perfume, Mischief. Alas, Mary Jane goes up to look at the pretty things on her mother's dresser and she does, indeed, get into mischief. "Don't get into any mischief while I am away," she says. One Wednesday afternoon, Mary Jane's mother has to go to the store.
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