A Woggle of Witches

by Adrienne Adams

Witches are frightened by strange creatures on the night of their special celebration.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens, Witches, Holiday, Fiction, Storytime

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Adrienne Adams (February 10, 1906 - December 3, 2002) was a children's book illustrator. She won two Caldecott Honors (in 1960 and 1962) and in 1973 she was awarded the Rutgers Award for overall contributions to children’s literature. In 1977, she won a University of Southern Mississippi Medallion.

She was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and grew up in Oklahoma She obtained a BA at Stephens College (who awarded her the Alumnae Achievement Award in 1964) then attended the University of Missouri and moved to New York in 1929 to study at the American School of Design and until 1949 she was a free-lance designer of displays, murals, textiles, greeting cards etc. She married children's book writer John Anderson in 1935 and in 1942 illustrated one of his books Bag of Smoke to begin her career as an illustrator becoming full-time in 1952. In total she illustrated more than 30 books, from contemporary authors such as Rumer Godden, Irwin Shapiro and Aileen Fisher to the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful Halloween read! I do like the title and I love the illustrations. The illustrations of the witches sleeping in hammocks in trees is beautiful and such a lovely idea. The story was 3 stars for me and the illustrations 5 stars, I love this illustrator's work. A very nice seasonal read!

Read on open library.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that witches sleep during the day in hammocks stretched between high tree branches?

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Woggle of Witches are coming to Halloween night!

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book because I was so tickled by its title.

This is a weird book, unless I had some pages missing, which maybe I did, but my copy of the book looked intact.

This is a silly simple story about witches, and it’s a fun book to read aloud.

My favorite pages were the witches in hammocks and the end when it’s revealed what scares this group (woggle) of witches. Some kids might chortle at certain points in the story; it is cute and amusing.

But, on the inside front cover it says: “Did you know, for instance, that a medium-sized group of witches is know (among witches that is) as a “woggle” of witches?” And the word woggle is in the book’s title, BUT, nowhere in the story does the word woggle appear. Strange! And disappointing. But I really liked it anyway.

I loved the atmospheric illustrations with their dark colored background. For the most part, they’re fun vs. scary, although it is possible that fearful children might be a bit scared at times.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS
A fun little story about "a woggle of witches" who leave their home in the forest treetops and take to the sky on Halloween night; they have so much fun, their smiles are infectious and you'll want to join them as they perch on the moon! ;-> There's a cute ending, too, involving some trick-or-treaters!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In a dark, dense forest the witches live, sleeping safely in the branches of tall trees," begins this deliciously creepy picture-book, written and illustrated by the marvelous Adrienne Adams, whose artwork can also be found in many of the vintage editions of Rumor Godden's work (books like The Story of Holly and Ivy , and Candy Floss ) that I have on my shelves.

The simple narrative follows the witches as they hold a woodland feast, fly off to the moon together, and return home, exhausted but happy. The full-color illustrations are absolutely spell-binding (pun intended!), sometimes creepy, sometimes adorable! I loved the scene in which the witches sleep, swinging in hammocks strung between the trees, or the one in which they circle an obviously dubious moon. A Woggle of Witches is one I would have enjoyed poring over, as a girl, and I recommend it to all young readers who loved witchy books!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child and it was as good as I remembered. A fun Halloween holiday read with great illustrations.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams is a fun, atmospheric tale of a large group of witches who are frightened by monsterous creatures on Halloween night.

This delightful tale follows some forest dwelling witches who feast, frolic in the sky, fly to the moon and back, then encounter monsterous Trick or Treaters on Halloween. They flee back to the forest and go to sleep in their hammocks.

The text is enjoyable with some good descriptive vocabulary including ravenous, straddle, marvelous, quivering and quavering.

The illustrations by Adams are perfect and enchanting with understated humor. The predominantly green, gray, black and yellow pictures match the season and mood. The joy of the witches in their activities is conveyed well. My favorite images include the witches in their hammocks, their feast, the flying witch pyramid, witches relaxing on the moon, and witches hiding and fleeing on their brooms.

This is a fun read for storytime or around Halloween. Recommended for school and library collections.

For ages 3 to 7, witches, Halloween, Fall, flying, and fans of Adrienne Adams.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the part when the witches got scared and they thought it was monsters except I knew it was just humans. The humans were dressed up as monsters and the witches thought they were real small monsters.

[Peggy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Halloween books ever! Simply understated in a way children can understand. Fantastic, interesting illustrations.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book and I loved how Halloween was incorporated into the book. I don't always like how witches are associated with Halloween, but this story made it very subtle and even humorous!

[Christine Ridout · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I wondered what the word woggle meant. Apparently, it’s not a word at all but that only adds to the fun. I told the children that a woggle of witches meant a whole lot of the. Anyhow, the woggle of witches flies off on Halloween night, eats their bat stew, and circles the moon. But, when they come back to earth, they are terrified by a group of trick-or-treaters and all the witches run and hide. An oldie but goodie that I recommend for the last week before Halloween.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The witches are frightened by strange creatures on the night of their special celebration.

From its adorable title to its whimsical art, A Woggle Of Witches is just plain ol' FUN.

My favorite part was the ending in which the trick-or-treaters scare the witches which flipped the ordinary expectation of who scares who and what's scary on Halloween.

I wish I would've known about this book when I was a little kid.

4.5 stars

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I stumbled across a picture from the book on Instagram, which hammered my memory to this book I had completely forgotten about. Naturally I immediately checked it out from the library. The narrative doesn't translate as well for an adult audience (not that a kid's book necessarily should). But all the kudos for the art and colors, the idea of witches sleeping in hammocks among the trees, and the idea of witches being utterly terrified of kids in Halloween costumes.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky dark illustrations to read when the wind is howling and the moon is crescent. But beware of looking out into the dark woods at night for you might find a woggle of witches in flight on Halloween night.

[Nicholas De · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 e mezzo

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the illustrations aren't that amazing, they are very dark and very Halloween-nightish. A very witchy book indeed.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't crazy about the text in this Halloween picture book, but I absolutely loved the illustrations! Adrienne Adams always does a lovely job of bringing various holiday books to life and drawing the reader into the excitement of the season.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

With dark illustrations and an aerobatic bevy of witches, this is a fun story for Halloween. Our girls loved the ending and I loved that the book was originally published forty years ago. I don't remember this book particularly from my childhood, but it's highly possible I read it when I was young, too. We loved the images of the witches on the moon and we enjoyed reading this story together.

This book was featured as one of the selections for the October 2011 Witches and Monsters-themed reads for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woggle of witches enjoy a feast (bat stew—yuck!) and then spend the night celebrating the special night of Halloween. When the woggle of witches come back to earth after a wild broom ride, a group of unsuspecting monsters spooks them.

A fun story to share in the spirit of Halloween. Kiddos will surely get a kick out of the “monsters” at the end of the story :D. The darker illustrations were fascinating; my favorite was the woggle of witches casually hanging out on the moon.

[Amy]

This book has a timeless feel and will put you in the mood to go trick or treating. See my complete review here: http://sunlitpages.blogspot.com/2012/...

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This not-too-spooky book is about a group of witches who live in the forest and sleep on hammocks in the trees. They take off one night after eating dinner and have a ton of fun.
The story is cute and follows along for a quick story. The story is not that impressive but this is a Halloween picture book and can be overlooked.

Th illustrations, although dark in nature, are adorable and create great movement that actually tells the story better than the words. Each turn of the page made me grins to see what the witches were going to do next.

4 stars.
Disclosure: I picked up a copy of this book from my local library. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, yet out of print, joy of a book. The artwork is wonderful. A group of witches who spend their time sleeping in hammocks amount tall trees wake up and fly through the air, doing tricks in the air on their brooms until they swoop down and are frightened by a group of trick-or-treaters. Wonderful art, fun-looking witches that aren't scary, and who are afraid of children. It's innocent fun through and through. My rating - 5/5

[Sol González · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si quieren algo para leer con un niño en la noche de Halloween, en el archive pueden pedirlo prestado. Sólo es uno, así que no se sorprendan si más tarde ya hay lista de espera.
https://archive.org/details/woggleofw...

Cuento cortito que narra qué hacen las brujas el día de Halloween.
Las ilustraciones son hermosas.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was mentioned on an episode of Ghost Adventures and I had never even heard of it! Super cute and gives a new perspective on witches that paints them as kind and afraid of trick-or-treaters rather than evil.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are pretty simple. All the witches look the same. But it's a different kind of Halloween book that doesn't scream Halloween. I appreciated that. The adventure the witches take is creative.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful witchy shenanigans on what must be Halloween. They gather for a feast and take off on their brooms, flying around the moon. Back on earth they encounter frightening monsters – children dressed up in costumes. Super fun illustrations by the author.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will make a great shadow screen play to go with older kids.

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little children's book that cought my eye a while back. It's silly and sweet and would be great to read as a Halloween bed time story.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the title and the illustrations in this book. While the illustrations are dated, their artistic qualities shine overcoming the text which is a bit boring.