Spanish / Spain
Cosas de bruja
(Witchy things)
Brusa, Mariasole
(text)
Sevilla, Marta
(illus.)
Zanabria, Raúl
(transl.)
Amavisca, Luis
(transl.)
[Madrid]: NubeOcho, 2019. – [33] p.
(Series: Egalité)
ISBN 978-84-17673-59-8
(Italian parallel ed.: Turchina la Strega. Matilda Editrice, 2019)
Role expectations | Self-image | Stereotype | Freedom | Individuality | Witch | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2020
The witch bristles with rage. Dying her hair has gone totally awry. Blood-red, ash-grey or snot-green colour would have worked – but fairy-blue?! To prove she’s still a real witch, she aims to kidnap a child, it doesn’t matter who, the main thing is to do it right away. But the child’s naive, disarming reaction immediately breaks her stride. She musters all she has, but it’s hopeless. Why is she doing this? Why is she mean? She has no convincing answer. The child’s questions and doubts thus have a similar effect on her as they do in Andersen’s fairy tale: She is suddenly naked, not literally, but figuratively. Her self-image, along with her taken-for-granted role expectations, attributions and supposedly inherent characteristics burst like bubbles. This comes as a shock to the witch at first, but in the end it’s liberating. This wonderful picture book is very witty, funny, spirited and trenchant in the dialogues. The wild, cheerful double-page pictures aptly capture the story’s comedy. [JW]