My Unwilling Witch Gets a Makeover by Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton
| My Unwilling Witch Gets a Makeover by Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The sixth book in the series sees Haggy Aggy wanting to become a supermodel. It's quite heavy on jokes which only an adult would understand but is still enjoyable for a child. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 96 | Date: January 2008 |
| Publisher: Orchard Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1846160660 | |
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My Unwilling Witch introduced us to the world of Rumblewick Spellwacker Mortimer B - or RB for short – the cat who's a witch's familiar to Haggy Aggy. She's the witch who just wants to be a regular girl and certainly doesn't want to go around frightening children. Now she's found RB's diaries and she's sold them to a publisher in exchange for a lifetime's supply of shoes. This is the sixth book and it tells the story of the time when Haggy Aggy wanted to become a supermodel.
I loved the first book in the series, with its picture book format and anarchic drawings by Sarah Warburton. I thought there was a lot of potential there, but now I'm not quite so certain. We've moved into a more traditional form with a stiff cover and I couldn't help thinking that it was aimed at adults as much as children. Many of the jokes are going to go over a young child's head – such as Stairrods department store, or RB's telephone number – 77+3-5+1-7 – or his hobby of point-to-point shrewing. There's nothing wrong in there being such bonuses for an adult sharing a book with a child but here I felt the balance had tipped just a little too far.
That said, it's a good story. Haggy Aggy wants to be a supermodel, but, well; she just hasn't got the looks. In fact, she looks scary. What she needs is a makeover and she's been watching all the television programmes. What RB needs is to get Haggy Aggy to Fright Night when all the witches and their familiars have a competition to see who's the most frightening, but she's not keen on going. I'm not going to tell you how it all works out, but it does and very neatly.
I did worry that the theme – a girl needing to have a makeover – might go counter to all that I believe in. I don't think that anyone needs a makeover, or that it should be suggested to impressionable people that they should have one. Fortunately the story line does make it clear that it's a rather silly thing to do and the results might not always be quite what you hope for.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
For another book which can be shared with a child or enjoyed by the newly confident reader we think that you might like Ottoline Goes to School by Chris Riddell.
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You can read more book reviews or buy My Unwilling Witch Gets a Makeover by Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free. (Paid link)
You can read more book reviews or buy My Unwilling Witch Gets a Makeover by Hiawyn Oram and Sarah Warburton at Amazon.com. (Paid link)
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