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.
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.
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.
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. 🖤
I'm not sure why I keep seeing this theme of a cat finding a home while visiting a library. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
¡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.
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.
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.