Excuse Me . . . Are You a Witch?

by Emily Horn, Paweł Pawlak (Illustrator)

Herbert doesn't have a home. He doesn't have any friends, and when the weather's bad life is pretty unpleasant. Except for the library -- it's always warm, and there are lots of good books to read. But you can't live at the library!

Then, while reading one day, Herbert learns that witches love pets -- especially black cats! Now all Herbert has to do is find a witch . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens, Cats, Fiction, Animals, Witches

32 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are so cute and expressive that I was won over by them alone!
The story is sweet and a very cute concept, and while perhaps nothing truly incredible all alone, married with the illustrations made this book impossible to forget!
Definitely recommended if you're looking for a non-scary Halloween book, and/or if you love cats, love black cats, and love the idea of a cat taking matters into its own hands (paws) to find itself a family.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gatos negros, solitarios y repudiados por las personas simplemente por su color.
No le hagan tanto daño a mi corazón :'(

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story and its pictures are charming with a capital C.

I loved the illustrations; they have a very unique style, and I loved it.

The story is of a gentle and polite, and homeless black cat named Herbert, who learns from books at the library that witches love black cats, so he goes off to find a witch in the hopes that he then will no longer be lonely and cold.

There is some heartache along the way, but the happy ending had me smiling.

A cat, a library, library books, and wonderful illustrations: What’s not to love?

Thanks to Goodreads friend Abigail who alerted me to this one, and grateful feelings to my library because they had a copy available for borrowing. It’s a shame this book has so few ratings and reviews by Goodreads’ members.

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy bonita historia. Habiendo un gato negro no podía ser malo

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herbert was a lonely black street-cat who longed for warm place to call home, and a person to love. Taking refuge in the library one especially cold day, he happened upon a copy of The Encyclopedia of Witches, and learned that here - at last! - was a group of people who valued black cats. "If I find myself a witch," he thought, "perhaps I won't be cold and lonely anymore!" And so began a quest for a witch, a seemingly fruitless search, until...

Expat Australian author Emily Horn, and Polish artist Paweł Pawlak team up on this adorable picture-book about a little black cat who finally finds the home he deserves! As someone who loves a (mostly) black cat myself, nothing irritates me more than the mistreatment often meted out to these wonderful creatures, due to human ignorance, so I found the happy ending here especially pleasing. Excuse Me...Are You a Witch? is a heart-warming story, and an ideal Halloween selection for the younger child that isn't ready for scarier fare.

[Eris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miaaauuuuu jejeje

[javier fernández]

Me gustó mucho

[Lore De Silvestri R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como soy tan amante de los gatos me dijeron que esta historia podía gustarme y la verdad es que no se necesitan más que un par de páginas para amar a este chiquito y querer ser la bruja que busca. Ojalá más personas leyeran y adoptaran a los Horacios de este mundo, los gaticos negros merecen tanto amor como el resto de mininos. 🖤

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I keep seeing this theme of a cat finding a home while visiting a library. The cat goes around the town trying to find a home and no one likes him because he's black and symbolic of bad luck. Witches find him at a library and accept him as a Witch School's cat. Not every story has to have a moral but I think this book tries to teach a lesson, although, it's not very clear exactly what it is. The pictures won me over though.

[Lady Melee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herbert the cat is homeless and alone, but even kitties know the library is a safe place for everyone! When the weather is bad Herbert goes to the library and reads. One day he finds The Encyclopedia of Witches and learns the witches LOVE black cats! Herbert sets off with his book knowledge of what a witch looks like to find himself a friend.
As a librarian with a special place in my heart for black cats I love this book! It is an adorable not spooky read for storytime.

[Clow Place · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amé este libro. Las ilustraciones son de lo más adorables. El personaje principal, el pequeño gato Hoacio, se siente solo, es rechazado por los humanos, por ser de color oscuro, y por ende traer la mala suerte. En su busqueda de compañia y cariño busca un hogar al cual pertenecer en la Noche de Brujas. Qué mejor manera de pasar un buen haloween, que leer un lindo cuento, muy tierno, ideal para los más pequeños.

[Leandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro ilustrado.
Un gato lector. Se llama Horacio y busca un hogar.
Un hogar en el que sea aceptado.
Muy buenas ilustraciones.

[J.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermoso.

[Lyz ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ay nooo 😭 Abracen a todos los gatitos negros del mundo. 🖤

Espero que todos los Horacios encuentre a su brujita.

[Camila Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pero qué bonita historia, tiene todo lo que me gusta.

Lloré porque me recordó a cuando conocí a mi (ahora) gato en un refugio, todo chiquito y asustado uwu no sé si Sixto (que se llama así por otro libro) decidió dormir en mis piernas ese día porque me vio cara de bruja pero espero que sí.

[nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

precioso

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Starts a little sad but ends up great! Black cat, library, and witches... what more can you ask for in a children's Halloween story? 😄

[T0rmentosa ⛈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amo a los gatos

[Danae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este es un libro ilustrado que leí por pura curiosidad ya que amo los gatos, pero me he encontrado con una historia más adorable de lo esperada. Me encanto mucho.
La historia que va de un gato negro sin hogar y no entiende no lo quieren, un día leyendo un libro se encuentra con que el seria perfecto para estar con alguna bruja así que comienza la búsqueda de una.
Amo demasiado los gatos negros, entonces la historia me encanto aun más porque en el se mencionan algunas de las tontas ideas que se llegan a tener sobre los gatos negros y que el gato protagonista tampoco entendía porque se muestran como lo que son, ideas sin sentido que la gente tiene aveces, un plus es que las ilustraciones me encantaron tanto como la historia.

[Kathryn Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herbert is a black cat. He was lonely and would go to the library to read alone and stay warm.
He read about how witches like black cats and then went on a search to find witches. He
looked all over town but couldn’t find any. Then one day he found a group of witches meeting
together and they fell in love with him and took him home.
It’s a pretty cute story about Halloween that is not scary for children. Could use this to enforce
that everyone is different but should be treated well.

[Nali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy linda historia

[BRNTerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is sweet. It's a 32-page full color children's book about a lonely, homeless black cat named Herbert. He wanders into a library and reads a book called The Encyclopedia of Witches. He learns that witches love black cats most of all. He sets off to find one. He wanders around town, thinking he's spotted one over and over again, only to find out the people aren't witches. He visits the library again and finds a group of "witch-schoolgirls" inside. They love him on sight and invite him to go to school with him. 

My favorite image is below, where they're leaving the library with him.

[Gaby Vallarino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Herbert is a lonely black cat that loves to read in the library. One day while reading, he found out that witches love black cats, so he decided to go in search of a witch in order to have a friend and not be lonely. After asking different people if they were witches and all of them said no, he decided to go back to the library. When he was back in the library, he encountered with a big and happy surprise that changed his live forever.

Theme: The major themes of the story is that you will always find people in your life that appreciate you and makes you happy, so you just need to look for the right kind of people that fit into your life. Another theme of the story is to always stay positive no matter what. The last theme of the story is to find your passion in order to help you during lonely times.

Personal Response: This story was really sweet. I loved that the cat was always positive and never got sad or frustrated. Even though at first he failed to find the witch to become his friend, he never stopped being positive and happy about life.

Why I recommend this book: I would recommend this book because it is short and simple. It shows children that by staying positive and following your hobby or passion, you can find happiness.

[Tayler K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for the cute little black cat looking for his witch. Then I opened it up and see a sign for the library on the endpapers! Not just two of my favorite things, but three!

Herbert is a stray cat. He likes to visit the library because it is warm and there are lots of books to read. One day he reads about witches and finds out they like black cats! He goes out and tries to find a witch based on what he read about them--their striped stockings, brooms, and cauldrons--but doesn't have any luck. When he goes back to the library for the night, there is a class of witch students and their teacher!! They all want to take him home, so instead they take him back with them to live at witch school.

It's a simple story but it's so cute! And Herbert's little body language and facial expressions are so adorable.

[Agostinho Barros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Horn traz-nos com "Desculpa... Por Acaso és Uma Bruxa" uma história de Halloween aprazível de agradar às faixas etárias mais novas. A narrativa aborda a história de Leonardo que ao gostar imenso de ler dedicava parte do seu tempo a idas à Biblioteca. É na Biblioteca que encontra um livro que falava sobre bruxas, incitando uma curiosidade em buscar uma delas. Procura pela cidade, questiona as pessoas, mas nada encontra. Até que de regresso à biblioteca encontra um grupo de crianças com chapéus de bruxas , e a professora mestra ao denominar as aprendizes como "bruxinhas", esclarece todas as dúvidas do gato que questiona se eram mesmo bruxas. Esclarecido com a informação, o gato junta-se ao grupo de bruxinhas e divertem-se juntos.

[Daniela Iñigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo leí en línea y definitivamente lo conseguiré en físico. Aunque no seas amante de los gatos, es un cuento bellísimo donde plasma distintos tópicos como el sentido de pertenencia, la paciencia, la introspección, la incoherencia de los prejuicios, entre otros puntos de convivencia. Creo que es una muy buena opción para disfrutarlo como lectura otoñal para los lectores que disfrutan de las historias de "no-terror" de Brujas, Noche de brujas, Halloween o como le llamen en su país.

Como un súper plus, las ilustraciones están fantásticas.

[Aseret Aldrete · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Qué gran enseñanza de este cuento! ¿Cuántas veces salimos a buscar lo que queremos encontrar y nos equivocamos de personas?
Tarde o temprano lo que es para ti llegará, y te amarán tal y cual eres, y serás una mejor versión de ti mismo cuando te rodees de las personas correctas.

Link del cuento: https://www.canva.com/design/DAEhxYZe...

[Lonely Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puntuación: ♡♡♡♡
Motivo de lectura: Tiktok
Lectura/Reelectura: Lectura
Edición: Digital

¡Qué libro tan bonito!

Un gato abandonado y solitario encuentra un libro sobre brujas, descubre que sus animales favoritos son los gatos negros, así que emprende una búsqueda para encontrar a una que le lleve a casa.

Probablemente nunca le hubiese conocido de no haber sido porque a pareció en mi para ti, es increíble el acceso que nos da y lo útil que puede ser para encontrar joyas literarias infantiles.

[madziar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mały czarny kotek Herbert mieszka na ulicy. W chłodne dni ogrzewa się w bibliotece i czyta książki. Pewnego dnia odkrywa "Encyklopedię czarownic", z której dowiaduje się, że ulubionym towarzyszem czarownic są czarne koty. Od tej pory marzy, by jakaś czarownic dała mu dom. Szuka ich bezskutecznie na ulicy, aż pewnego dnia czarownice same go odnajdują w bibliotece i zabierają do swojej szkoły.
Ciepła opowieść na pochmurne dni, ładnie zilustrowana spiczastą kreską Pawlaka.

[Yani Daniele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una pequeña historia ilustrada sobre un gatito negro que busca hogar, me lo recomendó Ana del blog
Imaginatura/a> y gracias a ella, ya tengo 4 #Literigatos. No voy a contar demasiado sobre este pequeño libro porque sería decirles todo, solo diré que si les gustan los gatos y las historias tiernas, aprovechen unos minutos para leer esta preciosura.