Dorrie and the Weather-Box

Dorrie the Little Witch #4

by Patricia Coombs

One day Dorrie, the little witch, wanted to have a picnic, but it was raining. "I guess I'll have to fix the weather," she told her cat, Gink. And up she climbed, high into the tower, to the secret room where her mother, the Big Witch, made magic. It was dark and spooky up there with bats flying all around. Dorrie shut the door tight and began to mix a magic potion. (She couldn't find a recipe for fixing weather in the Big Witch's Book of Magic, but she mixed two others together and hoped they would work.) "Abracadabra blinkety-blue," Dorrie chanted as she stirred. Suddenly there was a loud crash of thunder. Then pink lightning zig-zagged all over the room, the wind whistled and blew and dark clouds began to gather. "Oh, oh!" said Dorrie, "something is going wrong." It certainly was. Outside the sun was shining, but inside the rain was pouring down. Dorrie had fixed the weather--and the Big Witch got home just in time!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Witches, Chapter Books, Fantasy

50 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Patricia Coombs was born on July 23, 1926 in Los Angeles, California and during her school age years lived in Hawaii, Boston, New York, and San Francisco. She was always reading books and would hide in unusual places to avoid getting caught reading instead of playing. She attended DePauw University, Michigan State University, and received her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of Washington. She also studied poetry at New York University.

In 1962, Coombs wrote and illustrated Dorrie's Magic, inspired by her two daughters and their Siamese cat named Dingbat. The book was highly praised by the New York Times Book Review, and Coombs went on to create the "Dorrie the Little Witch" series. She wrote 20 stories about Dorrie and her adventures as a little witch over the next 30 years, ending with Dorrie and the Haunted Schoolhouse in 1992.

Coombs has also illustrated for other authors and contributed to Poetry Magazine.

From: Major Authors and Illustrators, pp. 562-564, courtesy of The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi and Wikipedia.org

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorrie - that little witch whose stockings are always mismatched, whose hat is always on crooked, and who is always accompanied by her faithful cat companion, Gink - stars in her fourth fabulous adventure in Dorrie and the Weather Box, causing trouble once again as she attempts to use her mother's magic. Deciding one Wednesday morning that she would like to go on a picnic, Dorrie sets out to "fix" the weather, with predictably disastrous results. It may be sunny outside, but only because Dorrie had brought the storm into the house! What will the Big Witch say, when she returns and finds it raining indoors...?

Prompted by my recent discovery that this series of early-reader picture-books, which I simply adored as a girl, included a number of titles with which I was unfamiliar, I have begun rereading the entire lot - not always an easy task, given how difficult some of them are to locate. This entry was one of the ones I pored over when younger, and (now that I have had the pleasure of rereading it) reminds me of Dorrie's Magic , which also featured a tale involving Dorrie's misuse of her mother's magical supplies.

Vastly entertaining, with charming illustrations that never fail to draw me in, Patricia Coombs' books are often little domestic comedies, all dressed up in witchy attire. I imagine that they would appeal, both to young children who dream, ala Harry Potter, of being witches and wizards, and to those who can identify with doing something naughty, when left unsupervised. In short, the Dorrie the Little Witch books should have broad appeal, and I continue to be mystified that no one has thought to reprint them!

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, young Dorrie is inspired to go on a picnic. The ever-grouchy Cook points out that it's raining outside so, it is terrible weather for a picnic. Never daunted, Dorrie climbs into the high tower were Big Witch does all of her magic so she can find way to stop the rain.
Wouldn't you know it, things do not go quite as planned.
Orange snowman, anyone?

[Books, Brews & Booze]

I really hope one of these books shows the Big Witch engaging more with Dorrie - she seems to be such a background character, but maybe that’s a purposeful decision, so as to let Dorrie take center stage?

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the characters

[Sharifaharfah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple and delightful tale.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable little story of a young witch and what happens when she tries to clear up the weather outside.

[Joanie Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite! Loved it!

[Chris Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is pretty good, but I absolutely love the illustrations.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorrie wants to do out for a picnic, but it's raining, so she decides to get into big witch's magic and make the rain clouds disappear, with disastrous results.

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite series as a child