The Knitting Witch

by Norma Kassirer, Mark Richardson (Illustrator)

Overview

Eloise meets Coraline in this spellbinding tale by the beloved author of Magic Elizabeth.

“ . . . reads like a bedtime story and will have kids giggling at Ivy Lou’s outrageous behavior.” —Avi, Newbery Award-winning author of Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Ivy Lou seems to have it all—except friends. So when a witch appears and knits up some magical playmates, Ivy Lou’s parents hire her. Things quickly worsen as Ivy Lou finds her new friends, parents, and fancy house disappearing, leaving her captive in the witch’s hastily knit Horrid Little Hut.

The witch has her own motives—to groom Ivy Lou to be a witch’s child. Ivy Lou, who turns out to be terrible at making potions, casting spells, and riding on a broomstick, has met her match. Even her threat of Tantrum Number Three, to turn herself inside out, doesn’t faze this witch. Finally, as the witch is out on her nightly broomstick rounds, a terrified Ivy Lou, enchanted knitting needles in hand, has only until midnight to unknit the Horrid Little Hut and restore the life she knew.

Will Ivy Lou manage to get back home, or is she doomed to become a witch’s child forever?

Crafted with Kassirer’s timeless prose, and brought to life with exquisite illustrations by Mark Richardson, The Knitting Witch will entangle readers in the threads of this magical yarn!

MORE PRAISE FOR THE KNITTING WITCH

“With a poet’s command of imagery and a mastery of narrative, Kassirer offers a fully imagined world in The Knitting Witch that you won't soon forget." —Geoffrey Gatza, author of The Albatross Around the Neck of Albert Ross

". . . Norma Kassirer spins a tale of the mysterious passed off as truth and truth masquerading as fiction, matched ink for ink with Mark Richardson's fantastical drawings, which will catch the fancy of every spellbound reader." —Edric Mesmer, Poetry Cataloger, University at Buffalo

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781685552251
Publisher:	The Collective Book Studio
Publication date:	10/01/2024
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Norma Kassirer, writer and artist, became best known for her middle-grade children’s classic Magic Elizabeth, first published in 1966 and featured in Eden Ross Lipson’s New York Times Parent’s Guide to the Best Books for Children. Another middle-grade novel, The Doll Snatchers, was published in 1969. In addition, Norma was the author of numerous books and short stories for adults. Norma’s daughter Sue Kassirer was thrilled to recently rediscover the original manuscript for The Knitting Witch, a story she had loved as a child. Wanting to share it with today’s children, Sue proceeded to edit and gently update the story, drawing on her many years of experience as a children’s book editor at Simon & Schuster, The Viking Press, Random House, and Harper Collins.

Mark Richardson is a freelance illustrator working primarily in watercolor and ink. His illustrations mostly focus on picturing fictional subjects within children’s literature. He also draws inspiration from the natural world and is engaged in an ongoing series of portraits of the birds that pass through his own property in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where he maintains a studio and shares a home and garden with his wife, Barbara. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Mark enjoys painting large landscapes that reflect upon his travels. He is also a bookbinder. Many of his artworks find their way into the hand-bound books that he produces in limited quantities from his studio.

Editorial Reviews

08/19/2024

Outlandish humor and lightly scary fairy tale magic permeate this fantasy adventure by the late Kassirer (Magic Elizabeth), which was recently uncovered by the author’s daughter. Ivy Lou “was known far and wide for the well-practiced tantrums that she threw.” To prevent her from blowing her top, the child’s wealthy parents fulfill her every wish, providing her closets overflowing with clothes, a pirate ship with a real crew, and, of course, a horse. And when a green-faced witch with a knack for knitting offers to stitch up some magical playmates for Ivy Lou, the family hires her. But Ivy Lou quickly regrets this decision when the witch knits a black scarf that makes her parents and house disappear, and whisks her to an alternate world located in the witch’s “horrid little hut,” where Ivy Lou struggles to learn spell-casting and potion-making. Though abundant detail occasionally slows the story’s pace, an omniscient narrator injects wit into the image-rich narrative, which overflows with ink-and-watercolor illustrations by Richardson that depict Ivy Lou’s life with fantastical flair. It’s a trope-filled tale that takes cues from the Brothers Grimm and Roald Dahl, providing a satisfying happily—and humbled—ever after. Ivy Lou’s skin tone reflects the white of the page. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Through simple prose, Norma Kassirer creates a magical adventure that is just right for independent young readers. With a poet’s command of imagery and a mastery of narrative, Kassirer offers a fully imagined world in The Knitting Witch that you won't soon forget."

Geoffrey Gatza

The author of Magic Elizabeth offers another winner with this tale. [...] With striking, memorable illustrations by Mark Richardson, Norma Kassirer’s tale about a special relationship between a little girl who is prone to outbursts and a witch who has a penchant for knitting—and a memorable little star, too—will delight Norma’s loyal fans!

Donna White

"As a teacher, I knew immediately this book would be a perfect read-aloud. As a writer, I loved the voice and humor of the narrator. As a reader, the story entertained me from the first word to the last."

Nora Raleigh Baskin

. . . reads like a bedtime story and will have kids giggling at Ivy Lou’s outrageous behavior.

Newbery Award-winning author of Crispin: The C Avi

"... Norma Kassirer spins a tale of the mysterious passed off as truth and truth masquerading as fiction, matched ink for ink with Mark Richardson's fantastical drawings, which will catch the fancy of every spellbound reader."

Edric Mesmer

. . . reads like a bedtime story and will have kids giggling at Ivy Lou’s outrageous behavior.

author of 70 books for children including Newbery Avi