3.62 Stars from 84 GoodReaders
THE WITCHES' KITCHEN would be an good choice for a middle-grader who is looking to pick up a spooky read for October.
The story is set in a dark and shifting landscape, where the principle characters aren't your usual set of pretty faces.
The tale begins with a bewitched toad who wakes to find herself dangling over a boiling, goat-legged cauldron. She manages to escape the seething pot, but soon discovers that while she doesn't feel comfortable in her present green skin, that she can't remember what she was before.
Quickly falling to the company of some of the Kitchen's minions, Toad sets out to solve this riddle, only to find that the two witch sisters, who had captured her in the first place, have not given up the hunt.
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Review: MALICE (the series) (MG/YA)
Review: THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST (YA)
Reading List: RL STINE'S HORRORLAND series (MG)
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THE WITCHES' KITCHEN is likely to please most middle-grade readers who like a spooky story. I would say that it's a step up from the popular Goosebumps series: more sophisticated writing and darker tone.
The Kitchen itself is a wondrous place that defies the rules of physics, and this provides the perfect setting for the evil that's afoot.
With a quick moving plot, young readers aren't going to be bothered by the slight flaws in writing that might give an adult pause.
The artwork, which is only in draft form in this Review Copy, promises to be fantastic and second to none.
Violence: yes. It's relatively mild, though descriptive. Imp biting off the tip of a nose... that sort of thing.
Read-aloud: I am actually reading this book to my children who are 8 and 10. It's a surprisingly good read-aloud.
Language: yes. There are a few (perhaps 4) instances of the use of 'damn' and one 'pissed'.
Pam~
The story is set in a dark and shifting landscape, where the principle characters aren't your usual set of pretty faces.
The tale begins with a bewitched toad who wakes to find herself dangling over a boiling, goat-legged cauldron. She manages to escape the seething pot, but soon discovers that while she doesn't feel comfortable in her present green skin, that she can't remember what she was before.
Quickly falling to the company of some of the Kitchen's minions, Toad sets out to solve this riddle, only to find that the two witch sisters, who had captured her in the first place, have not given up the hunt.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: MALICE (the series) (MG/YA)
Review: THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST (YA)
Reading List: RL STINE'S HORRORLAND series (MG)
------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WITCHES' KITCHEN is likely to please most middle-grade readers who like a spooky story. I would say that it's a step up from the popular Goosebumps series: more sophisticated writing and darker tone.
The Kitchen itself is a wondrous place that defies the rules of physics, and this provides the perfect setting for the evil that's afoot.
With a quick moving plot, young readers aren't going to be bothered by the slight flaws in writing that might give an adult pause.
The artwork, which is only in draft form in this Review Copy, promises to be fantastic and second to none.
Violence: yes. It's relatively mild, though descriptive. Imp biting off the tip of a nose... that sort of thing.
Read-aloud: I am actually reading this book to my children who are 8 and 10. It's a surprisingly good read-aloud.
Language: yes. There are a few (perhaps 4) instances of the use of 'damn' and one 'pissed'.
Pam~
THE WITCHES' KITCHEN
by Allen Williams
Reading Information:
Word Count: 55,191
Page Count: 288
Accelerated Reader: 5.7 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 140146
Lexile: 820L
--sample pages and other reviews available
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