Sea Witches

by Joanne Robertson, László Gál (Illustrator)

A Scottish grandmother explains the legend behind an old superstition to her grandson: Always crumble your eggshells, else the seawitches will get them and turn them into boats, from which they will cause storms and shipwrecks on the oceans.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grandmother warns her grandson to crush his eggshells, lest the malicious sea witches claim them and transform them into little boats in this poetic picture-book from Canadian author/artist team Joanne Robertson and László Gál. The haiku-form narrative describes how the witches would come silently in the night, gathering the eggshells and then setting sail in them, seeking out sailing ships that they might sink with their magic-born storms. The book concludes by returning to the grandmother and grandson, and repeating the warning...

Published in 1991, Sea Witches was elementary school teacher Joanne Robertson's first book, and was apparently inspired by Scottish superstition, which holds that eggshells are used by witches to create all kinds of mischief. I found the text here striking, and thought it was well-paired with the gorgeous illustrations of László Gál, whose work I have enjoyed in a number of other folk and fairy-tale picture-books. As someone who loves witchy fare, I was particularly engrossed by the depiction of the sea witches themselves, who were beautifully spooky. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy witchy fare, or are interested in folk beliefs and superstitions.