Witches That Have Cast A Spell On Readers

Witches. Around this time of year, they are everywhere. Chances are you may even find a flattened out witch against your neighbor's tree. In this day and age, no one is afraid of a little ol' witch. There have been many stories that have given readers a glimpse of what witches look like, laugh like and even how to make one disappear ... for good. Classic stories of witches are read throughout the year, not just in October. However, the Fall, with it's festive Halloween celebration, provides a wonderful excuse to list favorite literary witches. Every avid reader either remember these witches well or at least have heard about them from others.

The stereotypical witch is ugly, mean and vengeful. However, there are some witches that have broken the mold and taught readers that there is good and bad in every walk of life. Including witches. Some are just poor, loveable and misunderstood. Of course, all witches have the ability to do "magic" or some may call it wicked "witchcraft". Like it or not, the authors who have introduced us to these characters have brilliantly forged the way for the witches to cast their spells on an unsuspecting audience. Yet, no one truly complains about the spells. Quite frankly, they are rather enjoyable and worth every minute that readers are cast under their spells.

Without further fuss and musing, here is a quick list of ten fictional witches that everyone should know or at least has heard about in their literary "trails" of life.

Greek mythology has many unusual characters. Medea is no exception. In Euripides play she is the mother who does the unthinkable. She murders her own sons. There has often been debates on whether she qualifies as a "witch". To settle this debate consider two important fact. One she is often called a sorceress. Secondly, she worships the witch God Hecate. Lastly, she murdered her brother with no regrets. If that doesn't make her a witch, then the rest of this list should be pretty tame.

The Queen in Snow and the Seven Dwarves is the classic example of a witch in disguise. Every child is familiar with the story of how poor Snow White had a stepmother who was truly a witch. No need for the magic mirror to tell the truth about this evil Queen/witch. All one has to remember is the fact that a poor guardsman, on the Queen's orders, had to take Snow White out to the forest, kill her and bring back her heart in a jewlery box as proof that she was gone. When the Queen found out that she was not the Fairest of them all because Snow White still lives, all is not well in the Kingdom. (Care to guess at what might have happened to the guardsman? It's probably not a good ending for him) In an old lady disguise, complete with poisoned apple, the Queen/Witch tricks Snow White into falling into her evil trap. All ends well for Snow White when a handsome prince comes along to plant a kiss of true love on her lips. However, the evil Queen/Witch will forever go down in history as the model for every creep witch to follow. Be vain. Be vengeful. Be vicious.

In Hansel and Gretel, the old witch lives alone in the forest in a gingerbread edible home. Children wandering around alone in the forest should pack a lunch instead of chewing off part of a home. Every reader knows that this can only lead to trouble. This awful witch not only lures innocent children into her home "sweet" home, she also likes to fatten them us so she can eat them. Perhaps this is where the legend of withes hating children began.

Shakespere also used witches to tell a story. Who can forget the Three witches in Macbeth. They were also known as the Three Weird Sisters, and to be honest, they fit the description. They were the prophetesses who correctly predicted the rise and fall of Lord Macbeth. Of course, some have often commented that Lady Macbeth had all the qualities of a Queen Witch without the title. Others say she was just being a loyal wife and standing by her man. Nonetheless, the Three Witches were considered evil and in Shakepeare's time, they were considered a harbinger of bad news.

The Wizard of Oz introduced readers to witches from all corners of the world. On the one hand, The witch from the North uses her magic for good. She is beautiful, helpful and is similar to a Fairy Godmother. Everyone in Oz loves and trusts the Witch of the North. However, the Wicked Witch of the West, is the exact opposite of her peer from the North and behaves like the witches of legend. She flew around on a broom but never once did a black cat appear at her side. Then again, who needs black cats when flying monkeys are so much more entertaining.

In C.S. Lewis' the Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, the witch is definitly the antagonist of the story. To say she is cold, is an understatement To place Narnia in a one hundred year winter to gain and keep power is just one of her many calculating moves. Lewis' use of the witch demonstrates the capacity of evil to wield its power in any form possible. The White Witch claims to be human and uses the creatures as her minions. She has all of Narnia under her control and knows that human entering into her world will disrupt her her control. Thus any human who appear in Narnia are to be brought to her. Lucy and her siblings get caught up in her trap but eventually find a way, with Asian's help, to free Narnia of her control.

Not all witches are bad, some are helpful and lovable. Their magic is used for good and only called upon when it is necessary. One such witch is Strega Nona, Tomie DePaola's Italian grandmother who is also a witch. Strega Nona dos not wear a pointed hat, black dress and fly around on a broom. Instead she wears traditional Italian peasant dress, a babushka and has a magic pot that produces enough spaghetti to feed an entire neighborhood and hen some. This witch makes every reader wish their Nona was as "homey" as Strega Nona.

Broom-Hilda is not from traditional literature. As a librarian, it is important to remember that reading cartoons is a positive activity. With that being said, she is worth a mention because she plays a part in popular culture. She looks like a typical witch, for being 1500 years old but in a very humorous way she is depicted as a man-crazy, cigar smoking and beer guzzling, who has many friends to accompany her in her adventures. She could be invited into any home and not one person would be afraid of this crazy old witch. She might even be fun to have around for a Super Bowl Sunday party.

Last but not least. Harry Potter has a whole gaggle of witches that appear in and out of his life. Harry's own mother is a witch who was killed when he was very young. However, the one who gets mentioned here is Hermonine Granger. The smartest student at Hogworths and loyal friend to Harry. She always wants to obey the rule, like most good students, but finds that sometimes fighting "fire" with fire is the only option. Rowlings has taken the good witch, bad witch storyline to another level.

Of course, there are many other witches in literature. Is there one that has been left out here? More than likely, but in defense of this posting, these were the first witches that come to mind.

National Children's Book Week -- Visiting Old and New Favorites

This week we celebrate National Children's Book Week. As some old timers know, this week use to be celebrated in November but has been moved to May. It truly makes no difference when it is celebrated, as long as old and young readers alike remember the good reads of today and yesterday. As a tribute to this week, it seemed fitting to name each day of the week after a beloved children's literature character. The list goes like this: Madeline Monday, Tacky the Penguin Tuesday, Winnie the Pooh Wednesday, Thomas the Tank Engine Thursday, Froggy Friday, Strega Nona Satruday and Seuss World Sunday. Each of these friends are welcome into my story time any day of the year, but a brilliant idea hit me out of the blue! Why not give them each their own day during this special week. There are so many displays, crafts, story time fun that can be developed for children of all ages. So let's begin....

Madeline is a wonderful character, and the original Fancy Nancy in my opinion, who taught little girls about France. The familiar opening to her books of twelve little girls in two straight lines and the smallest was Madeline, still delights little ones. The best books to read in story time is the original Madeline, Madeline and the Bad Hat and Madeline and the Cats of Rome. Both of these stories invoke questions from young readers of the language difference, where Madeline lives and her family of Miss Clavel (who is a nun and why isn't she Sister Clavel is a mystery to all?) and the other eleven girls. I never miss a chance at storytime to make things a little different. For Madeline, I wear a nun's habit. (Yes I have one in my treasure box downstairs. No I did not steal from a nun to get it.) Children love it and want their own hats. So before the storytime begin, simple Madeline Hats are made and if there are boys the hats they make matches the one that Pepito wears in Madeline and he Bad Hat. After everyone has their hats, the rule is that they must keep their hates on for storytime in order to help them hear the stories better. As Madeline's stories end, we say au revoir and look forward to Tuesday.

Tacky is an odd bird. Must be why I like him so much, we have lots in common. Never one to go along with the crowd and the only one on the iceberg with a Hawaiian shirt. Reading Tacky the Penguin would be a mortal sin (okay so I still have Miss/Sister Clavel in my psyche) if I didn't wear my favorite loud Hawaiian Shirt. Tacky the Penguin, Tacky in Trouble and Three Cheers for Tacky fill storytimes with giggles. Tacky uniqueness reminds even the older readers, like myself that being different is not only okay it is what makes everyone lovable. As a librarian, have you ever played the Penguin games? Be ready for a lot of waddling and silly tricks such as carry a medium size ball in between their legs and have them race to a point. For smaller children, a flannel board game consisting of five penguins who need to get dressed up in their best outfits. Each penguin wears a different color top hat, a bow tie and shoes. The children need to mach the colors of each of the items and place them on each of the penguins. My favorite Craft: paper plate penguin complete with goggly eyes and beaks.

Wednesday is for Winnie the Pooh and a visit to the Hundred Acres woods. There are times when I wish that Disney would have left Pooh alone. The story of Christopher Robin and his pal is just perfect without Disney's touch. Be it as it may, the only good to come out of it is that there is a wide range of books to choose from for storytimes for the younger readers. For an older book talk, it is fun to see the expression on older children's faces when they talk about the original book. One reader actually told me that A.A. Milne's book actually seemed more real than Disney. (Either he really liked it or he was trying to score points with the librarian, either way I don't care) My favorite game to play with the young kids is a hunt for the pot of honey. After all, after a wonderful storytime don't we all have a little rumbly in the tumbly? So off they go searching for Pooh's pot of honey. Once they find it, they discover that the secret to a good pot of honey is sharing it with friends. (yes, I do have treats inside for the children, usually it is bit o honey candy bites or Hershey's Kisses) For the older readers, a map of the hundred acre woods as they imagine it to be. Winnie the Pooh has stayed in the hearts of many readers, and that is why his stories still live on and on.

Thursday is for Thomas the Tank Engine, by this time we are chugging along down the tracks to the end of the week. Little boys still love Charming Thomas even after fifty-four years. Thank goodness this series of books were brought to life in 1979 for television to gain a new admirers of Thomas, who is always ready for to help his friends in a jam and prove he is up to the task worthy of a tank engine. How could you not love that can do spirit? My all time favorite game to play with little ones is the train station. In between stories, to get restless feet a chance to move, a little bit of chugging down the "tracks" and picking up "steam" is great fun while testing to see how well the little ones listen to directions. Of course, everyone gets to holler 'ALL ABOARD!" As a bit of warning, if working with a "rowdy" bunch, a smart librarian might want to cover their ears at this point.


Froggy Friday, where every child comes into storytime to sit on their own little pad. My favorite stories include Froggy Gets Dress, Froggy Plays in the Band and and Froggy Rides A Bike. What I love about Froggy is his enthusiasm. No matter what the situation, Froggy puts everything he has into it and comes out smelling like a rose. Well, maybe more like a frog. Kids with lots of enthusiasm have plenty of chance to show it off when they get to jump from lily pad to lily pad until they have completed a circle and found their way back to their home lily pad.

Strega Nona Saturday is the highlight of the week for me. Strega Nona has a spark of magic, a peck of love and a whole lot of Italian that makes me dream of my ancestor's homeland. So it goes without saying that I find an old apron and a babusca on my head. (I hope I make my wonderful Nonnas proud!) The story of Strega (In Italian this means Witch) Nona is more like a folktale and it reminds me of the wise sayings my own mother repeats over and over again. In the first Strega Nona, we meet our heroine and Big Anthony, in her little Italian home. Strega Nona shows Big Anthony the spell of the growing pasta and warns him not to do it himself, since it is a very powerful spell. Well, does the big guy listen? Nope. He tries the spell and finds that he can not stop the pasta from growing. Strega Nona to the rescue! She comes home and stops the overflowing pasta. As punishment for not listening to Strega Nona, Big Anthony has to eat all the pasta. (In my house, that would not be a curse, it would be a blessing!) What better craft to do than a macaroni craft? A little bit of yarn, string it through the pasta, and make it into a necklace or bracelet.

To end the week, we have Seuss Sunday. There are so many titles to choose from that Seuss Sunday could last well into the night. With Green Eggs and Ham, If I Ran the Zoo, Cat in the Hat, and Horton Hears A Who. That's just naming a few of my favorites. During any storytime featuring Dr. Seuss, It is important to bring out the white and red stripped stove pipe hat and wear it with pride. However, with all the activities of the week, it seems appropriate to settle down a bit and read one of Seuss' more reflective books Oh, The Places You'll Go!" This book offers a reminder that everyone has something to accomplish in their own world. In my world, there are so many more books I need to read and go to far off places that only books can take me. Indeed, the places I will go! Luckily, I will always have a group of little ones to take along with me in storytimes.