WHICH WITCH IS WHICH?

A rhyming seek and find makes this book a sure bet for a cozy read-aloud. On the right-hand side, Collicott’s (Toestomper and the Caterpillars, 1999, etc.) animal witches fill the page, each unique and with its own witchy hat. They are hard at work, acting, eating, sewing, playing . . . and making trouble. On the left-hand page, Barrett (I Knew Two Who Said Moo, 2000, etc.) presents a mystery—“Which witch is learning to stitch?” and four rhyming questions to help the reader pinpoint the correct witch in the illustration—“Is it the one wearing socks? / Is it the one eating lox?” While in many cases it is obvious which witch it is, the questions give the reader other details to look for in the pictures. And a good thing, too, since many of the activities will be unknown to children on the first reading. The text has the added bonus of highlighting all the rhyming words in colorful fonts, as well as introducing new ones—lean, glum, smug, lox, and nook, among others. Children will delight in the detailed drawings—new things will appear with each reading, and with the text as a model, they will get better and better at describing what they see. A clever and fun book that will have kids learning without even knowing it. (Picture book. 5-8)