From School Library Journal — PreSchool-Grade 3 -- A very contemporary-sounding Gritch the Witch sets out for Old MacDonald's Farm to get herself a meal of plump piggies. Alerted, however, by her skywritten "Surrender Piggies!," the swine hastily don sheep, cow, and other barnyard disguises and fool her with their good acting (moos, quacks, etc.)... more » and poker-faced denials of any pigs in residence. The still-hungry Gritch is persuaded to give up by a Big Bad Wolf (he's been unsuccessfully chasing three pigs for days), and the two go off for lunch, each picturing the other made into a sandwich. Children may not catch all the humorous references, like the yellow-pages ad for Yazgur's farm (site of the real Woodstock), but will quickly catch on to refrains in the text echoing "Old MacDonald." The exuberant illustrations are colorful and action-filled. Greedy (but not too bright) witch and wolf both get what they deserve in this thoroughly enjoyable romp that turns a popular nursery song on end. --Meg Stackpole, Rye Free Reading Room, NY

Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill Halloween picture book, even though Gritch the Witch certainly looks her part (though a bit more trendy), with a pointy hat, a gap-toothed grin, vicious green fingernails, and two beauteous moles on her face. She acts her part, too, swaggering, greedy, and just plain impatient, as she brooms off to Old MacDonald's Farm in search of eight plump porkers for her favorite pie. But Palatini deftly turns the tables on Gritch, whose own sense of importance (and the skywritten warning "Surrender Piggies!") gives her victims time to implement a plan to save their bacon. When hungry Gritch arrives at the farm, she can't find a single pig. Instead, she finds a wolf, whom she slyly invites home: "I always enjoy having a wolf for lunch." The wry, peppery dialogue is simply great ("Look, Shorty, I've been quack-quacked here, moo-mooed there, and clucked-clucked everywhere all over this farm" ), and Palatini's allusions to popular children's stories from The Wizard of Oz to the "Three Little Pigs" will delight kids. So will Fine's bold, expressive artwork, which gives wicked Gritch a comic audacity that makes her trouncing all the better. A sardonically humorous, rip-roaring yarn that can be enjoyed all year round. --Stephanie Zvirin

ISBN-13: 9780590921633
ISBN-10: 0590921630
Pages: 29
Rating:

Currently 4.5/5 Stars.

4.5 stars, based on 4 ratings

Publisher: Scholastic
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
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