cover image A is for Apple, W Is for Witch

A is for Apple, W Is for Witch

Catherine Dexter. Candlewick Press (MA), $14.99 (160pp) ISBN 978-1-56402-541-8

Ten-year-old Apple Olson leads a fairly normal life except for the fact that her mother is a witch--not the green-faced, evil-spirited variety, but a ""minor, neighborhood type"" who uses spells for ""small, everyday things."" Trouble brews when Apple, annoyed by a pesky classmate named Barnaby, decides to try out some of the powers she has inherited from her mother and ends up turning him into a slug. As might be expected, one experiment in sorcery leads to another, and Apple soon discovers the pitfalls of being a witch. Those who enjoy reruns of Bewitched will be drawn to Dexter's (The Mazemaker) mild-mannered fantasy. Extra doses of spells and magic--Apple's first flight on a broomstick, for instance--compensate for the formulaic plot. Ages 8-12. (July)