Witch Hazel

by Molly Idle

Overview

Transform dust into magical memories in this moving intergenerational tale that celebrates stories and the time we have together.

Something magical happens when Hazel and Hilda are together. As the seasons pass, Hazel’s broom whisks the dust off many years of joyful memories, and young Hilda watches them come to life. But is it magic making memories...or are memories making magic?
 
This poignant tale and artistic tour de force from Caldecott Honoree Molly Idle gently explores the passage of time and the transcendent power of sharing our stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316541138
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	627,824
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Molly Idle is the award-winning creator of many books, including the mermaid tales Pearl and Coral. Molly’s work as an author-illustrator also includes the Tea Rex series and the Caldecott Honor Book Flora and the Flamingo. Molly lives in Arizona with her family and invites you to visit her at idleillustration.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2022

Working in expressive white and graphite lines on warm brown paper, Caldecott Honoree Idle draws Hazel, an elderly woman in a cape and a pointed hat, and Hilda, a girl clad in overalls, throughout the seasons. As Hazel and Hilda sweep the front porch one spring day—the paper background provides the characters’ skin tone—Hazel shares a remembrance of herself as a girl. Using swooping, balletic curves, Idle renders Hazel’s memories via lively, misty white images that unfold in and around the present-day duo: a young Hazel practices flying on her swing, a copy of Peter Pan in her hand. In the summer, Hazel, now shown in memory as a young woman, frees a songbird: “I loved him too much to keep him in a cage.” And in the fall, a more adult Hazel in a splendid ball gown and live boa swirls and twirls. By winter, though, Hazel has taken to her bed, and soon becomes a solace-offering memory herself. The story’s fantasy elements add little more than aesthetic to this tale of intergenerational love, but its attention to memory and loss tenderly shows how the capacity to tell stories is passed on. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

An Indie Next Pick

"The story’s...attention to memory and loss tenderly shows how the capacity to tell stories is passed on."—Publishers Weekly

“Idle’s wispy, fine-lined depictions of memories are conveyed in a white that nearly glows off the terrestrial browns, as do the sparks of magic that fly through the air in graceful, flowing lines. A bewitching examination of the abiding power of memories and story."—Horn Book

"The sparkling-white details of the art lend the illustrations a dreamlike quality. Once again, Caldecott Honoree Idle (Flora and the Flamingo, 2013) captivates, infusing realism with fairy tale."—Booklist

"A reassuring tale about the power of memory and storytelling to provide comfort for grieving children."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

01/01/2023

Gr 1–3—In this gentle tale, a young girl named Hilda works alongside the much older Witch Hazel. Each season brings a new set of chores—sweeping in spring and dusting in summer and fall—and as they work, Hazel reflects on both the time of year and times gone by. She remembers being a playful girl and later a beautiful young woman. The color palette is simple with a light brown background throughout, graphite drawings of the present-day characters, and swirling, ghostly white figures to represent the past. By winter, Hazel has taken to her bed, and Hilda alone is in charge of tidying the house, as well as stepping into the role of storyteller. The ending is somber, though not heavy-handed. Readers will take comfort in the fact that Hazel's spirit will live on through Hilda, the new keeper of memories. VERDICT A reassuring tale about the power of memory and storytelling to provide comfort for grieving children and a simple life cycle story for a more general readership.—Gloria Koster

School Library Journal

2022-07-27
Two friends tell stories and say goodbye.

Hazel, an older woman, and Hilda, a girl, share their lives—chores, tales, and more. In heavily sepia-tinted spreads, showers of glittery white illustrate the different stories that Hazel, clad in a pointy black hat, tells Hilda. As they sweep the steps and play piano, Hazel talks about her cat, her bird, and her youth as the “belle of the ball,” while these yarns are unraveled through white sparkles that coalesce into visions. Portraits on the wall of the ivy-covered house offer more clues. Eventually, Hazel takes to bed and then dies—a moment that is handled subtly, a story told “to the end” as a window goes from light to dark. Wiser readers will understand what is being conveyed, while younger or less experienced audiences may need that transition explained to them. The sentences aim for open-ended but too often land on vague, with ellipses carrying a bit too much weight. There are a lot of questions left: Is Hazel a witch, as the title implies, and if so, what, besides the hat, makes her one? Are Hazel and Hilda family or friends or neighbors? Will Hilda make a young friend of her own? Read aloud, this will invoke a quiet, peaceful mood but leave readers with some degree of dissatisfaction. Both characters have skin the color of the sepia pages. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Calming yet unfinished. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews