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EARWIG AND THE WITCH
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Product Description
Review
“…a delightful sampler of her originality and imagination, with small unexpected touches.” Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times Culture, Children’s Book of the Week
“There's a nice helping of magic and some brisk upbeat sentiment in this crisply written story… How the feisty Earwig outwits the pair with her own special skills and the help of Bella Yaga's cat Thomas is deliciously entertaining.” Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian
Praise for ENCHANTED GLASS:
‘Blissful’
Guardian
‘Wynne Jones is superb, mixing the comical with the magical’
The Times
Product Description
Everyone knows that orphanages are horrible places. But Earwig has a surprising amount of power over everyone else at St Morwald’s Home for Children, and loves it there. So the last thing she wants is to be sent to live with the very strange Bella Yaga…
Earwig was left at St Morwald's as a baby. Unlike the other children, she loves it there, mostly because she has the run of the place and seems to be able to persuade people to do as she wants. Then one day Earwig is chosen to live with a very strange couple: Bella Yaga, her new 'mother', is actually a horrible witch. Earwig will need all her ingenuity (and some help from a talking cat) to survive…
With terrific line drawings that perfectly complement Diana’s witty, magical story, this is sure to appeal to a new generation of fans.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have loved Diana Wynne Jones' books ever since I first discovered them, and have devoured each eagerly as it's come out. I'd really looked forward to this - particularly as it will presumably be her last, following her sad death earlier this year. (Unless, maybe, perhaps, there is one still in the pipeline from her publishers.) "Earwig and the Witch" is vintage Wynne Jones, funny, quirky, intelligent and magical BUT, and it's a big but, it is very very short and clearly aimed at younger children. My 7 and 8 year olds will love it, but I'd hoped for something with a much older target - me! Her teen novels such as "Homeward Bounders" are superb - enthralling and brilliantly conceived and written. This is great for its target readership but I had wanted more.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Briefly: the plot involves a little girl in an orphanage who gets everything she wants. She is picked out to be fostered by a strange couple, the woman turning out to be a mean old witch and the man is actually some kind of supernatural being, and no longer does the little girl get everything she wants. She teams up with the witch's talking cat and the two devise ways to make their lives better.
This is possibly Diana Wynne Jones's last book (I've heard there may be one more coming out in the next year -although they are rereleasing Dogsbody with a Neil Gaiman introduction, so that may be the book they're referring to). Sadly, this is one of her shortest books, feeling as if it belongs in a collection of shorts such as her Stopping for a Spell or Warlock at the Wheel.
It's a wonderful, Diana-esque book, obviously aimed at a younger audience. Lines are generously spaced, the text is large, and there are plenty of illustrations (quirky, fitting illustrations by Marion Lindsay in the UK version. The U.S. version to come out Jan. 31, 2012 will be illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky), so the 144 page book really amounts to very little to read. I read it in 45 minutes, which is definitely why it feels like it should be in a collection of short stories. As a children's book it's fine, but those of us used to Diana's lengthy, thorough story-telling it is way too short. I wanted more!
It's all Diana though, and she created a quaint, interesting world and characters, as usual. My only wish was that the ending (basically the last chapter) was more elaborated on and the book was longer (while I was reading it with the fact it's geared toward younger children in mind, I couldn't help but think that part of the reason it is not as in-depth as many of her other books is because she was ill while writing it - but that doesn't affect the quality - it just makes you want to learn more about the characters and the world, but it is never given to you. Usually Diana does give you all the answers by the end of her books - she wraps everything up in a nice little package). But it was cute.
It is a must-have for those who love Diana, especially being her last (known) original book before her passing March 26, 2011. She was an inspired and creative genius and the world will be at a loss without her bright new stories. I always looked forward to the newest release of hers every year or two. Thankfully she was a prolific author, and has over 42 titles published. She left the world with a part of her and I am truly grateful to her. Diana, you will be greatly missed.
This is possibly Diana Wynne Jones's last book (I've heard there may be one more coming out in the next year -although they are rereleasing Dogsbody with a Neil Gaiman introduction, so that may be the book they're referring to). Sadly, this is one of her shortest books, feeling as if it belongs in a collection of shorts such as her Stopping for a Spell or Warlock at the Wheel.
It's a wonderful, Diana-esque book, obviously aimed at a younger audience. Lines are generously spaced, the text is large, and there are plenty of illustrations (quirky, fitting illustrations by Marion Lindsay in the UK version. The U.S. version to come out Jan. 31, 2012 will be illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky), so the 144 page book really amounts to very little to read. I read it in 45 minutes, which is definitely why it feels like it should be in a collection of short stories. As a children's book it's fine, but those of us used to Diana's lengthy, thorough story-telling it is way too short. I wanted more!
It's all Diana though, and she created a quaint, interesting world and characters, as usual. My only wish was that the ending (basically the last chapter) was more elaborated on and the book was longer (while I was reading it with the fact it's geared toward younger children in mind, I couldn't help but think that part of the reason it is not as in-depth as many of her other books is because she was ill while writing it - but that doesn't affect the quality - it just makes you want to learn more about the characters and the world, but it is never given to you. Usually Diana does give you all the answers by the end of her books - she wraps everything up in a nice little package). But it was cute.
It is a must-have for those who love Diana, especially being her last (known) original book before her passing March 26, 2011. She was an inspired and creative genius and the world will be at a loss without her bright new stories. I always looked forward to the newest release of hers every year or two. Thankfully she was a prolific author, and has over 42 titles published. She left the world with a part of her and I am truly grateful to her. Diana, you will be greatly missed.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This will be a little review to suit a little book. A little book, but one that contains bag-fulls of charm, magic, mayhem and talking cats. Earwig is an orphan who was left on the steps of St Morwald's Home for Children. She has managed to entwine the inhabitants of the Children's Home round her little finger, and all now do her bidding. So she is beyond dismayed when Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to the Home and choose Earwig to take home with them. Bella Yaga is a witch and determines that she is going to use Earwig as a second set of hands. Earwig is just as determined that she won't be used for that - and sparks certainly fly.
Diana Wynne Jones is sorely missed - an author who mixed mundane and magical to produce stories of great delight. I equate Diana Wynne Jones with Roald Dahl - someone who knew how to entertain children, not talk down to them, and introduced both darkness and humour to their tales.
Accompanying the text of Earwig and the Witch are atmospheric illustrations from the pen of Marion Lindsay - cute and eerie, all at once.
As I said above, I was utterly charmed by this novel and think that anyone who has enjoyed a Diana Wynne Jones in the past will love this dark little gem.
Diana Wynne Jones is sorely missed - an author who mixed mundane and magical to produce stories of great delight. I equate Diana Wynne Jones with Roald Dahl - someone who knew how to entertain children, not talk down to them, and introduced both darkness and humour to their tales.
Accompanying the text of Earwig and the Witch are atmospheric illustrations from the pen of Marion Lindsay - cute and eerie, all at once.
As I said above, I was utterly charmed by this novel and think that anyone who has enjoyed a Diana Wynne Jones in the past will love this dark little gem.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wonderfully Macabre and Very Silly
For those who are not ready yet for Wynne Jones's output for older readers like the Chrestomanci series, this is the perfect introduction to her work. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
my 4 year old's favourite bedtime story!
My 4 year old first picked this book at the library and insisted on us reading it out over and over at bedtime. We couldn't believe how many times we have read through it! Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. T. Walker
Diana Wynne Jones for younger readers
A fantastic little book to introduce younger readers to the magical Diana Wynne Jones. The story is classic DWJ, full of her originality, charm and humour. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Reader8
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