Which Witch is Which?

by Judi Barrett, Sharleen Collicott (Illustrator)

Which witch fell in a ditch?
Is it the one riding on a broom? Is it the one holding a balloon? Is it the one looking at the moon? Or is it the one eating a prune?
Judi Barrett, author of the classic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and its sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh, offers young readers a fabulous new concept book that will tickle their funny bones while challenging their perceptual abilities. Each colorful page encourages the child to find the "right" witch in a group of witches, all unique and in very imaginative settings. Sharleen Collicott's wonderful illustrations depict them with inventive charm and whimsy. The clever, rhyming clues are in the form of questions and even after the correct answer is revealed, children will want to revisit, over and over again, this most delightful and unusual bunch of witches.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Childrens, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2001

About the author

Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Judi Barrett and illustrator Sharleen Collicott deliver an entertainingly interactive witchy extravaganza in Which Witch Is Which?, asking a series of questions - "Which witch is flicking a switch?" or "Which witch is a sneaky snitch? - and presenting four options. The young reader or listener must then examine the illustrations, in order to see which witch, of the four named, is the guilty party.

Although not really a storybook, I imagine that Which Witch Is Which? would make an engaging story-hour read, particularly in one-on-one sessions. Children will enjoy searching for the answer to each question, and will appreciate the rather fantastic artwork, done in gouache. Witches come in all shapes, sizes and species, and that too - the frog witches, the dog witches, and so on - will please young children. I don't know that this one has much relevance for the Halloween season - it can really be read at any time of the year - so I'd recommend it primarily to any young reader who enjoys puzzles, and interactive picture-books, rather than to those looking for specifically witchy fare.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book was really very cleverly executed. The drawings are surprisingly layered and well thought out, presenting a great deal of action in very small spaces. This seems to make for a better, more expansive feel to the book overall, which provides a richness to the riddle pictures that would not normally be possible.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I'm sure that many other readers have (and will!), too. Which Witch is Which? is a delightfully entertaining find.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank loved this book. It's a rhyming book, and I felt like it offered some good vocabulary building for him. It also provided a fun little cognitive exercise, as he would have to think about the descriptions given and decide which witch was the "right" witch.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is fun and while not necessarily a Halloween book, we'll probably revisit it around then. It's interactive kind of like an easier/younger/shorter attention span version of I Spy and has neat illustrations with different animals playing the parts of the witches throughout.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book, honestly. It was cute and I enjoyed the tongue twisting prose, but there was one part that was troublesome. One of the illustrations depicted an animal being harnessed and tied to a circus trailer that contained an angry lion. The lion was lashing out at the animal (maybe it's a boar? I can't tell) with his claws as it struggled not to be contained. The cats who were attempting this task looked frightened and sad, it was just a disturbing image overall and gave me a bad feeling about the rest of the book. I tried to ignore that one page and appreciate the rest of the lovely, detailed artwork, but it was difficult to remove that image from my mind. If I feel this way, as an adult, I can only imagine how a child might feel. My 7-year-old grandson said it was "weird and sad" which describes my feelings perfectly.
I hate to give only 2 stars because of the work that clearly went into the story, but I do want to warn any other sensitive children, and adults, about this one illustration.

[David Smither · Rating 5 out of 5]

A challenging, tongue-twisting book for young kids, this book is great for students with reading difficulties, as it will teach vocabulary, critical thinking, observation, and reading comprehension skills.
Unique Feature: Dizzyingly detailed pictures.
Genre: Fantasy (Real genre: Teaching Reading Skills)

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Limeminearia]

So weird.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I picked this up suspecting it would be good homonym/homophone/homograph book, it turned out to be something very different yet equally enjoyable. With rhyming verse, each page asks the reader to answer a multiple choice question about some obscure aspect of the illustration, like a Where's Waldo or Spot the Difference with a standardized test overlay. Being that I'm a teacher and therefore despise multiple choice standardized tests, you'd think that I'd be opposed to this book on principle, but I actually liked it a lot and would probably use it with kids in a lesson on noticing. It's a fun read and finding the answer to the questions forces the reader to look closely at the illustrations, i.e. notice little details that they might otherwise overlook in their haste. Cool book. Good thinking by the author.

This would be a good way to get young children to describe something that they see in an illustration. Often, they want to point at something they see in an illustration rather than describe it. This forces them to "use their words," a refrain that I've found myself saying to children for years.

[Mercedes Case]

Brief Review- This story is a fiction childrens book. it teaches the difference between Witch and which. I think this is important because it helps the children get a deeper understanding by hearing it and connecting it to the pictures. It also teaches rhyming and is great to use during the Halloween time.

Content area- The content area you could use this is language. This is because it has a lot of rhyming. You could give them the first rhyming words on the page and ask them what rhymes and see how many they get that are on the page.

2 questions-
What makes words rhyme? What are some rhyming words you know?
a. The ending has to sound the same and he, she, me, bee.
What does the word which mean? How is it used in the story?
a. It means one or the other. Its used in the story to show who one is.

2 wonders-
Which Witch is the one that is the answer to all questions?
How can you get words to rhyme?

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judi Barrett is a great author! This book is a hit on many levels although I must warn parents if your child falls in love with it the book will surely drive you crazy. "Which Witch is Which?" is made to read aloud and parents or teachers will enjoy the tongue twisters that Judi Barrett has assembled. It is a great book for teaching the letter W and for that reason will be appreciated by teachers and speech therapists. A huge part of the fun of this book are the incredible detailed illustrations by Sharleen Collicott. Each two page spread includes dialogue by Judi Barrett on the left and the accompanying illustrations on the right. Five questions are on each left hand page require the reader to closely examine the illustration in order to answer them which would make this book difficult for large groups.

[Anne Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a concept book, the text seems too complicated for the average preschooler, and the pictures are too cutesy for a book supposedly about witches. Moreover, too many of the pictures look alike, making it difficult for young readers, or even for their parents, to point to the witch being described on the adjacent page of text.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful rhyming book that might be a little difficult for a bigger group but would still be fun. The idea is to find the answer to the first question on the page with the four answers present and the picture to find your clue. Great illustrations and clever rhymes.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about this Halloween book is that it is interactive. Each page shows different witches doing different things. Children participate by answering the questions identifying the different witches.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for children, nice illustrations, fun repetition and rhymes, colorful and easy to follow. Ends a bit suddenly.

[Kathy Lautenschlager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful repetition in this. I used it while tutoring struggling readers. They loved it. It has a lot going on in the pictures.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun "find the witch" picture book with great rhymes. My only criticism is it ends abruptly.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is fantastic and the kids were very interested in looking at the pictures, but the book asks questions to which the answers are unclear and seems to force rhymes and content.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

good Halloween picture book for preschoolers with rhymes and interactive searching to answer questions

[Rima Aroutiounian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great colorful book that will enhance the children's imagination and their critical thinking. Colorful, imaginative and good for phonological awareness.

[Julie]

This was cute - the illustrations were great and it's a good vocabulary builder with some great rhymes - but I don't think I'll keep this one in my collection.