Here There Be Witches

Rating:
Summary: Dark and dreary... or not
Review: "Here There Be Witches" is as enjoyable as its predecessors, a collection of short stories and poems concentrating on witches. As before, it ranges from humorous to chilling, thought-provoking and well-written.

"The Magic House" is a brief Hansel and Gretel poem. "Witch's Ride" is a grafting of a folktale and some real-life events, about a woman considered a witch who isn't one, and a witch who isn't considered one. "A Conversation Among Witches" is just that, a conversation between three witches. "Boris Chernevsky's Hands" is a SF/F story that includes the legendary Baba Yaga, about a young man whisked away by Baba Yaga in a giant mug. "Witch's Cat" is a self-description by a witch's cat. "The Passing of the Eye" is a hilarious glimpse of what happens when the hero Perseus is a little too polite to the three witches. "The Face in the Cloth" is a poignant story about a young princess whose life is overshadowed by her mother's deal with three witches.

"When I Grow Up, by Michael Dee" is another funny story about a little boy who wants to be a warlock. "Pythagoras" was a little harder to understand, the apparent implication being that he was a wizard. "The Promise" tells of two young children, born in the same hour of two close friends, who are supposed to remain together, but who are threatened by an evil sorcerer. "Circles" is about when wishes are granted through a little magical ritual -- though not always the way that is wished for. "Weird Sisters" is about the Macbeth Witches. "The Woman Who Loved a Bear" is a Native American fable similar to "Cinderella." "When Love Came to Witch Alfre" describes the problems when a witch falls in love. "The Sword and the Stone" is an extremely enjoyable Arthurian tale about Merlin, a mysterious stranger, and a sword in a stone. "Witchfinder" is a story about a poor old woman accused of making cows dry up. "Witch Call" is a Wicca-themed poem.

There are a few dead spots in this collection, but overall it is a highly enjoyable collection of short stories and poems. As with the books "Dragons" and "Unicorns," these will entertain with sprightly prose and original storytelling.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Anthology of Witches
Review: Jane Yolen's latest anthology (preceeded by 'Here There Be Dragons' and 'Here There Be Unicorns') is centred around the topic of witches and holds a wide range of writing styles, whether it be poetry, short stories, retelling of legends or dialouge. This variety of these stories and their tones sometimes makes a rather mish-mashed collection; the serious stories don't quite fit with the light-hearted ones and you feel as if they should be in separate books. On the other hand, the range means that there's something for everyone and one gets to see the many sides of witches and their crafts. David Wilgus' black-and-white illustrations are greatly responsible for my enjoyment of this book - he is able to create beauty and realism in each one, no matter how fantasic the subject matter is. I especially like the front and back cover - an old woman on the front, but a beautiful youthful one on the back - but the same snake-ring they were is testimony that they're the same person!

Yolen starts each piece of writing with a short, conversation-like introduction telling the reader how she got the inspiration for each story, what they're about and how she went about writing them, which adds further interest to the stories themselves.

There are seventeen pieces of work altogether. The poems are: 'The Magic House' - a poem about the famous Gingerbread House, 'Witch's Cat' - about the witch's best-known familiar, 'A Conversation Amoung Witches' a rhyming chant of the witches, 'Pythagoras' about the famous wizard philosopher, 'Weird Sisters' a rather dark poem that uses witches as metaphors for a young girl's life, 'When Love Came to Witch Alfre' a lighter poem about a witch who falls in love, and 'Witch Call' about famous witches in history.

Also in the book are stories suited for more grown-up readers such as 'Boris Chernevsky's Hands' a science-fiction type story that stars the famous witch Baga Yaga who helps out a young man dissatisfied with his clumsy hands, and 'Circles' about a young woman living in an abusive home who learns the secrets of casting witch circles and wishing on them.

Humourous stories include 'The Passing of the Eye' about a politically correct knight who comes across three witches and 'When I Grow Up, by Michael Dee' the essay of a boy who is about to be initiationed into the family business of becoming a warlock. As well as this there is 'Witchfinder', the story of a woman accused of witchcraft from many different viewpoints.

My favourites however, and in my opinion Yolen's best, are her re-tellings of old fairytales and her creation of new ones. These are 'The Face in the Cloth', the story of a young Princess struggling to become her own person despite her having her mother's face stitched onto the hood of her cloak, and 'The Promise' about two young people, Kay and Kaya, who are given a promise that they will marry only to be separated by an evil sorcerer when Kay is turned into a fish and lives (unknown to Kaya) in her fishpond. This one's probably my favourite, along with 'The Witch's Ride' about a man who marries the town's beauty only to wake up every morning to find himself more tired than he was the night before. His mother investigates and discovers rather startling truths about his bride...
Then there is 'The Woman Who Loved a Bear' the retelling of an old Native-American story about a Cheyenne woman who meets and is protected by a large bear.

Lastly there is a the rather long story concerning Yolane's favourite subject - Arthurian legend. In this one she distorts the tale of the Sword in the Stone a little by having 'Merlinnus' create the stone and the sword *after* Arthur is considered king. And it's not exactly Arthur who pulls out the sword...This one isn't exactly my favourite, but Yolane's love of the old legends shines through with every word.

All in all, though some stories didn't quite strike my fancy, and others were obviously borrowed from other sources (although she does try to explain herself!) this is a quite good collection of witchy stories that is sure to set off some ideas of your own, and will keep witch-loving kids occupied for some time.

Rating:
Summary: This book is fun for all ages!
Review: This book is gorgeous! The illustrations are fantastic, and add to the magic of Yolen's writing. A perfect pairing of author and illustrator. The stories are varied, making this an excellent and interesting book for all ages. I checked it out at the library, and now want my own copy for my fifth grade classroom.