Review by Booklist Review
Black cat, broom, pointy hat--she can only be a witch! Clearing some cobwebs from the corners and from her memories, Hazel reminisces about her star-studded youth, plays the piano with her pet bird, and dances as the belle of the ball. Meanwhile, little Hilda, enraptured, tidies up, provides tea, and keeps the old woman company when she becomes weaker. As the accompanying printed text gets noticeably smaller, Hazel begins to fade away until, eventually, her tale ends. A teary Hilda continues to sweep and dust Hazel's front porch, remembering their delightful times together. Slight text and a muted palette of browns and whites tell this soft and sweet story about the friendship between a little girl and a special old woman whose witchy abilities are enchanting. The sparkling-white details of the art lend the illustrations a dreamlike quality. Once again, Caldecott Honoree Idle (Flora and the Flamingo, 2013) captivates, infusing realism with fairy tale.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Working in expressive white and graphite lines on warm brown paper, Caldecott Honoree Idle draws Hazel, an elderly woman in a cape and a pointed hat, and Hilda, a girl clad in overalls, throughout the seasons. As Hazel and Hilda sweep the front porch one spring day--the paper background provides the characters' skin tone--Hazel shares a remembrance of herself as a girl. Using swooping, balletic curves, Idle renders Hazel's memories via lively, misty white images that unfold in and around the present-day duo: a young Hazel practices flying on her swing, a copy of Peter Pan in her hand. In the summer, Hazel, now shown in memory as a young woman, frees a songbird: "I loved him too much to keep him in a cage." And in the fall, a more adult Hazel in a splendid ball gown and live boa swirls and twirls. By winter, though, Hazel has taken to her bed, and soon becomes a solace-offering memory herself. The story's fantasy elements add little more than aesthetic to this tale of intergenerational love, but its attention to memory and loss tenderly shows how the capacity to tell stories is passed on. Ages 4--8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--3--In this gentle tale, a young girl named Hilda works alongside the much older Witch Hazel. Each season brings a new set of chores--sweeping in spring and dusting in summer and fall--and as they work, Hazel reflects on both the time of year and times gone by. She remembers being a playful girl and later a beautiful young woman. The color palette is simple with a light brown background throughout, graphite drawings of the present-day characters, and swirling, ghostly white figures to represent the past. By winter, Hazel has taken to her bed, and Hilda alone is in charge of tidying the house, as well as stepping into the role of storyteller. The ending is somber, though not heavy-handed. Readers will take comfort in the fact that Hazel's spirit will live on through Hilda, the new keeper of memories. VERDICT A reassuring tale about the power of memory and storytelling to provide comfort for grieving children and a simple life cycle story for a more general readership.--Gloria Koster
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Review by Horn Book Review
As the seasons pass, young Hilda visits elderly witch Hazel. In the spring, she helps Hazel sweep her front porch; in summer, they air the music room; in fall, they clean cobwebs in Hazel's parlor; and in winter, Hilda tidies Hazel's room as Hazel is bedridden. Hazel reanimates past memories with her broomstick, and Hilda watches in wonder. She sees a young Hazel playing imaginatively with her cat; a teenage Hazel performing music and setting a caged bird free; and the "belle of the ball" version of Hazel, who wears a snake like a scarf and what look like Cinderella's glass slippers ("It's a looooong story," she tells Hilda). During wintertime, Hilda sees all iterations of Hazel as the witch slips away from her life. The book's palette is dominated by an earthy brown, a pleasing balance to the ethereal subject matter. Idle's wispy, fine-lined depictions of memories are conveyed in a white that nearly glows off the terrestrial browns, as do the sparks of magic that fly through the air in graceful, flowing lines. When spring comes around again, the still-mourning Hilda returns to sweep Hazel's porch, only to be met with a special memory of her own, and new life bursts forth in a nest in Hazel's tree. A bewitching examination of the abiding power of memories and story. Julie Danielson September/October 2022 p.61(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two friends tell stories and say goodbye. Hazel, an older woman, and Hilda, a girl, share their lives--chores, tales, and more. In heavily sepia-tinted spreads, showers of glittery white illustrate the different stories that Hazel, clad in a pointy black hat, tells Hilda. As they sweep the steps and play piano, Hazel talks about her cat, her bird, and her youth as the "belle of the ball," while these yarns are unraveled through white sparkles that coalesce into visions. Portraits on the wall of the ivy-covered house offer more clues. Eventually, Hazel takes to bed and then dies--a moment that is handled subtly, a story told "to the end" as a window goes from light to dark. Wiser readers will understand what is being conveyed, while younger or less experienced audiences may need that transition explained to them. The sentences aim for open-ended but too often land on vague, with ellipses carrying a bit too much weight. There are a lot of questions left: Is Hazel a witch, as the title implies, and if so, what, besides the hat, makes her one? Are Hazel and Hilda family or friends or neighbors? Will Hilda make a young friend of her own? Read aloud, this will invoke a quiet, peaceful mood but leave readers with some degree of dissatisfaction. Both characters have skin the color of the sepia pages. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Calming yet unfinished. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
