Witch Hazel

by Alice Schertle

A young boy uses a witch hazel branch to make a scarecrow and has a mysterious encounter on the night of the harvest moon

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Alice Schertle has written more than 40 books, mostly for children. A mother and former elementary school teacher, Ms. Schertle is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Many of her most famous works are poetic in nature, though she writes about a wide variety of topics.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really liked this book! I'm not sure why, exactly, but the style just suited me and the illustrations are so lovely and very evocative of the pioneer farming time period depicted. I love the child's gentle faith in his scarecrow, Witch Hazel, and the surprising magic turn of events at the end... It's also a bit of a tall tale, explaining how the Harvest Moon came to be. Can't say much more without giving things away, but the mystery and ultimate sweetness of Witch Hazel really won me over!

[Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book as a kid. Favorite. Book. I don't know how to explain or underscore how much this book was my favorite when I was little.

[Heather Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older book, beautifully written and illustrated. A young boy trails behind his older brothers and is left out due to his age. But he finds a way to have his own adventure and gets a front seat to the magic his brothers think he missed out on.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

story: 3.5
art: 4

Set in days of long ago when life was quieter and more connected with the land.

The name 'Witch Hazel' was inspired.

From seed to seed.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, gentle, and filled with imagination, hope, and belief in magic. All the things childhood should be made of.

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just so wonderfully sweet.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very sweet story about a little boy, pumpkin seeds, and a scarecrow. A lovely read-aloud story for the autumn months.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny is told by his older brothers that he's too young to help out on the farm. They eventually give him some pumpkin seeds to plant. When the seeds began to sprout Johnny asks to make a scarecrow but is told he's too young. But the brothers are fond of him so they help him the project, finding him a branch from a witch hazel bush. Johnny dresses the scarecrow in old clothes and names her Hazel.

When the pumpkin buds opened up the birds ate every single seeds except one which was hiding under Hazels dress. The pumpkin grows fat and round and orange. But when fair time comes, his brothers tell him he's too small and too young to travel with them to the fair. They offer to sell his pumpkin for him though. Johnny does not want to sell it. He knows Hazel saved the best pumpkin for something special.

Once the brothers leave Johnny places the pumpkin right next to Hazel for safe keeping. That night after dark Johnny heard strange sounds outside and goes to investigate. Hazel was holding the pumpkin and swaying in the wind. As Johnny watches Hazel tosses the pumpkin into the sky and it becomes a huge harvest moon. As Johnny falls asleep in the field and Hazel carries him back inside and puts him to bed. When he wakes in the morning Hazel is gone, but there are pumpkin seeds left for him to plant.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story of the magic of believing and decency. I liked the repetition involved here. Nice book all the way through.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this - Hazel is a great character. This is good story for Autumn.