Earwig and the Witch

by Diana Wynne Jones, Paul O. Zelinsky (Illustrator)

"I would like to declare Diana Wynne Jones an international treasure," proclaimed Neil Gaiman, Newbery Medalist and best-selling author. In this enchanting introduction to Diana Wynne Jones's magical and funny work, Earwig is a fearless young orphan. When she finds herself in a house of dark magic, she does whatever she can to adapt—especially if it means that she'll learn a little magic herself! A young middle grade novel by World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement‒winner Diana Wynne Jones, beautifully illustrated in black and white by Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky. Not every orphan would love living at St. Morwald's Home for Children, but Earwig does. She gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, and it's been that way since she was dropped on the orphanage doorstep as a baby. But all that changes the day Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to St. Morwald's, disguised as foster parents. Earwig is whisked off to their mysterious house full of invisible rooms, potions, and spell books, with magic around every corner. Most children would run in terror from a house like that . . . but not Earwig. Using her own cleverness—with a lot of help from a talking cat—she decides to show the witch who's boss.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Magic, Witches, Audiobook

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

Diana Wynne Jones was a celebrated British writer best known for her inventive and influential works of fantasy for children and young adults. Her stories often combined magical worlds with science fiction elements, parallel universes, and a sharp sense of humor. Among her most beloved books are Howl's Moving Castle, the Chrestomanci series, The Dalemark Quartet, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and the satirical The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. Her work gained renewed attention and readership with the popularity of the Harry Potter series, to which her books have frequently been compared.

Admired by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and J.K. Rowling, Jones was a major influence on the landscape of modern fantasy. She received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, two Mythopoeic Awards, the Karl Edward Wagner Award, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. In 2004, Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an acclaimed animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, further expanding her global audience.

Jones studied at Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. She began writing professionally in the 1960s and remained active until her death in 2011. Her final novel, The Islands of Chaldea, was completed posthumously by her sister Ursula Jones.

Reviews

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because it is my life's ambition to read every Diana Wynne Jones book.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wanted to read this before watching the new ghibli movie. it's super short and cute!! the ending is quite abrupt, but as wynne jones was ill and this was published posthumously, i think that's wholly forgivable.

we have a spunky orphan, witches and demons, spells and potions, and the comfort of a sassy kitty cat. i would have adored this as a kid!!

[Spencer Orey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's ok! My kid liked it and was curious about how things would resolve at the end. The art was ok too. Deceptively simple but still weird enough to stop and examine for a bit.

There's a slow build of magic, then a great funny scene. After that, the ending was a bit of a let down (Earwig kind of accidentally inspires someone to help her instead of fixing things herself). But the story was solid overall.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it just me or should there be a book 2? Because there are some unanswered things.

[EA Solinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's pause and bow our heads for a moment. A few years ago, we lost one of the greatest fantasy authors, Diana Wynne-Jones.

Before she passed away, Jones wrote one last book containing the usual things you would expect: an irrepressible orphan, a witch, spells, a cat, and lots of magical forces. But sadly, "Earwig and the Witch" is not really up to Jones' usual brilliance -- it's a fun book, but it feels like an unfinished draft that ends abruptly, without dealing with all the plot threads.

Earwig (aka Erica Wigg) has spent her whole life in an orphanage, and has no desire to be adopted by anybody. But despite her best efforts, she IS adopted by a mysterious pair -- a witch named Bella Yaga (also a nickname for Bella Swan), and a mysterious horned man called the Mandrake. Bella Yaga only adopted Earwig so she would have unpaid labor.

Soon Earwig decides to make the best of her situation, and learn some of the many strange spells that Bella Yaga is working on. She also has an unexpected new ally: the witch's talking cat, Thomas. With his help, she might be able to master enough magic to make Bella Yaga regret ever treating her like a slave...

"Earwig and the Witch" has that distinct Diana Wynne Jones charm -- talking cats, magic books, suburban witches, overwhelming Britishness and a wicked sense of humor. It also has a bittersweet tang, since this is the last Diana Wynne Jones fantasy novel we'll get (unless they find some hidden manuscripts somewhere).

Earwig is a delightful heroine -- strong-willed, feisty and willing to bide her time so she can mess around with the annoying witch who dragged her away from her old home. It's hinted that there's more to Earwig than meets the eye, but it's never developed. Thomas is also a fun character, a sardonic cat who reluctantly helps Earwig with her spells, and the mysteriously sulfurous Mandrake.

Unfortunately... the book doesn't feel finished. It feels more like the first third of one of Jones' books -- there are a bunch of things that seem to be significant (Custard, the note from Earwig's mother) but are never picked up. At the end, you're left thinking, "That's it? It's OVER?"

"Earwig and the Witch" is a sad book -- not just sad because it was Jones' final novel, but because it feels like she never really finished it. But it has charm and magic as a coda to her career. Farewell, Ms. Jones.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short novel for any fluent Y2 reader, as a class read for Y2 or any confident reader upwards to Y4. I’m not sure many write as well as Wynne Jones and this short tale is an example of how masterly she manages her prose.

Earwig is an orphan who enjoys life in the the orphanage. She is well liked, has friends and somehow, oddly, manages to get everyone to do exactly as she asks. So when a mysterious woman turns up accompanied by a seven foot men with horns asking for her to be fostered, Earwig knows that she must manage this new life too.

This short novel is crammed full of great vocabulary, plenty of gaps in the meaning and enough for a reader to sleuth through whilst maintaining a tidy pace and highly memorable cast of characters. There are problems to solve, spells to be cast and cats to be saved. And all achieved in the space of 133 pages. Quite a feat!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a young girl named Earwig is adopted by an evil witch and lord of the demons called the Mandrake, she tries to survive with a talking black cat named Thomas. Will she succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good middle grade fantasy novel and is soon to be an animated film from Studio Ghibli in the future. If you enjoy novels like this, be sure to check this book out at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.

[Jassmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Just a fair warning that this review is a messy one. I'll probably edit it in future if I feel like it...)
I needed a pick me up, but this wasn't it. I'm still not completely sure what I listened to. Maybe I think too much about things, but... we have a heroine living in an orphanage, she loves living there because she can manipulate everyone there... with magic (am I the only one thinking about Tom Riddle?) like... this isn't ok. Then she gets "adopted" by a witch and a... demon? satan? just what is going on here? (It doesn't seem like those two are a couple just to be clear... and if they are... well, that's properly creepy and toxic.) But it's not really an adoption, because Bella Yaga just wanted someone to help her in her work shop and she is just terrible to Earwig. This really reminded me of Roald Dahl stories and not in a good way. Honestly, to me the "villains" (or are they?) felt a little queer coded and I just wanted to read about them being a happy weird family, instead of them being pointlessly mean to each other. Also, when you think about this story from point of gender analysis things get really... not strange really, more like "why are we doing this again?" Let's just look at Mandrage, he's the always grumpy/angry English gentleman who spends all his time in his study and reads newspapers/books while the family eats, he shows no interest in the relations and troubles occurring between people he's living with, but when they disrupt his peace he puts them all in line and ends up being the hero of the day. I could do the same analysis for Bella Yaga but honestly, I don't have the energy.
There are also some unresolved lines the note her parents left her with in the orphanage, but that makes sense considering this was Jones' last work if I'm not mistaken. I think it could be solved by some editing, but I get it's hard to do this posthumously.
Jones' love for cleanliness also makes another comeback 😂
Overall, this isn't a bad book, but some of the implications just didn't sit well with me. I feel like there has to be some better books with similar motives, but right now I can't think of any I would recommend instead of this one, so... I'll add them if I remember.
___________________________________
I also watched the studio Ghibly adaptation of this after and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that one either. They experimented with a different type of animation on it and everyone agrees that it was a mistake, because the film looks kind of hideous...
I'm also starting to see queer people everywhere because I was completely convinced that the two women leading the orphanage are a lesbian couple - fight me! (Which is why it made me cry when Earwig went away from them... What's wrong with me...)
The movie tried to explain and smooth some things and I have to say that some of the things it did, I was thinking too, but it was also... wild. Like, Earwing's mother, Bella Yaga and Mandrage had a band and from the clips, I'm also convinced that they were in a polyamorous relationship. In the end, it doesn't really clear much, even though character wise the ending was definitely better for Bella Yaga than in the book and from this angle I definitely liked it better, but some of the changes just... I can't see the point...

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short Diana Wynne Jones children's story about a young girl in an orphanage who always gets what she wants and ends up fostered by some horrible witches..

It is DWJ, the writing is fantastic, and funny and I bet would be awesome to read aloud. But the story and characters go nowhere (other than Earwig being smart and resourceful and magic) and there is little depth to the characters. Which yeah I get, it's meant for children, not even young adults, but still very flimsy.

And something bugged me, the plot set up makes no sense. Mandrake can get anything just by asking the demons, what is the point of having Earwig around, making her fry bread when he could just ask for much better versions... Children's books can go as fantastical and high magic as they wish, but children care about logic, and the setup just does not work...

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a huge disappointment! In the first place, it was a little too Roald Dahl wannabe for me, both text and illustrations. Nothing wrong with Dahl, but we already have him, we don't need a copy.

In the second place, this could have been an excellent full-length novel if only Jones had taken the trouble to flesh it out and develop it. Instead, we have a detailed buildup and then she does something I hate: leaps forward to "one year later" when everything is fine-fine and Earwig already has what she wants. Nothing about how she learned the trade or anything interesting like that. No reunion scene with Custard, no matter how "desperate" she was to see him. Nothing.

This "long short story" smacks of lazy writing on the part of an author who is known to do very much better. It was like she really wasn't trying, but then she died the year this was published, so we don't know when she started it, or if it was a rough draft the publishers rushed out after she died to cash in. I feel bad, but I really can't give it two stars because I really did not like it much at all.

I hear that Goro Miyazaki chose this book as the basis of his latest anime. I hope he did a good job with it, because it could turn out pretty awful.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really digging it, and then it ended. I can’t help but think this was the seed of an entire novel and Diana Wynne Jones simply knew she’d never get to finish it. It was everything I love about her books—a feisty young protagonist, weird magic, a talking cat—but not nearly enough of it.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Earwig is an orphan, who reigns supreme at her orphanage. Then she’s adopted by an odd pair, and she goes to live with Bella Yaga, a witch, and Mandrake, something frightening.
Bella Yaga says she’ll train Earwig to be a witch, but in reality makes her prepare ingredients for spells, and clean. Before very long, Earwig and Thomas, the cat who lives there too, are cooking up ways to thwart Bella Yaga.

The humour is light, and the ending felt a little unresolved, but I still enjoyed this story, and really liked the illustrations, which were quirky and a little spidery.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations add to delightful sweet fun with a titch of demon dark. Helpful front pages full figure cast. Hairs stick out, eyes bug out, mouths twist expressively on stick full-front people; top margin is crows on thorny line; spiders sprinkle around spookily.

On the doorstep of St Morwald's Home for Children, Mrs Briggs found a note pinned to shawl on a baby she called Erica Wiggs, and never told. "Got the other twelve witches all chasing me. I'll be back for her when I've shook them off. It may take years. Her name is Earwig." p23. Sets a series premise and itches for sequels. Earwig can make people do whatever she wants, ask the cook for anything, likes best pal Custard aka John Coster, and twists her expression to reject parents, until a far from ordinary couple arrive.

Bella Yaga has purple lipstick on "raggety, ribby" face, big red hat, bright green sweater, brown tweed suit, and sky-blue high-heeled boots p17; in a rage, her brown eye turns up, blue eye down. Attended by tame hoof-tail demons who fetch his desired menu, never anger Mandrake, or he stretches taller, thinner, "alight with black fire", eyes "red pits of rage", dark fire streams back from horns on his head, his huge clawed feet leave "smoking holes in the floor" p129. Earwig cannot escape, agrees to work hard for magic lessons, but Bella only wants an extra pair of hands for slave labor: grind, chop, stir.

Black cat Thomas runs from itchy bad evil work for familiar, but helps find "Grow Extra Body Parts" spell in the grimoire and talks, guiding Earwig all night making the requisite voodoo image, stopped by need for hairs from target.

Hairs from the red hat work, but Bella breaks the spell and sends earthworm-size blue and purple wrigglers after the conspirators. Earwig accidentally pushes them into Mandrake's den, but when she confesses to her mistake, he enforces her magic lessons with Bella. After a year, he calls her Dearwig, his demons fetch her any breakfast, and Thomas purrs on her bed for Happy Ever After p140.

[Zach Mendelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

my star system sucks for something like this. this is a the equivalent of a sweetie-cream cold-brew on a summery whatever day—it'll take you about an hour to savour and will energize you with its saccharine wit. goro miyazaki, the son of the other guy, is in the process of making an animated film based on this story. as a big fan of his father's rendition of howl's moving castle and an even bigger fan of diana wynne jones' trilogy under the same name, i was legally required to check this out.

it's delightful in its brevity with tons of space for imagination—to the point of ending as though mid-sentence, leaving me suspended in midair, fantasizing about earwig's future for a full five minutes before i realized the proverbial rug had been wrenched out from beneath me. with so many open ends and colorful characters, my interest is critically piqued for goro miyazaki's already-stellar-looking film.

my star system:
1 star - this book must be forgotten by god and man
2 star - i was not wild about this book
3 star - other people will enjoy this more than i, but i see the appeal/enjoyed it/probably had some fun
4 star - i love this book and wholeheartedly recommend it
5 star - i am an absolute freak and this book was written specifically for me, your mileage may vary

[Rara Beretta · Rating 1 out of 5]

it seems more like a draft rather than a complete short story.

[lauras_garden_of_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klein, frech und wunderbar!

Inhalt:
Aya wurde als Baby beim Waisenhaus St. Morwald ausgesetzt. Aya lebt gerne dort; Alle machen was sie sagt und ihren Freund Pudding mag sie am Liebsten.
Eines Tages, Aya ist 10 Jahre, wird sie von der Hexe Bella Yaga und dem Mandrakus adoptiert; Aya denkt, sie wird nun auch etwas Zauberei erlernen, jedoch will Bella Yaga die kleine Aya nur für die Hausarbeit. Der Mandrakus hingegen will nur seine Ruhe und keinesfalls gestört werden. Zusammen mit dem sprechenden Kater Thomas versucht Aya nun, ihren Willen doch noch zu bekommen und probiert sich eigenständig an verschiedenen Hexenzaubern aus - mehr oder weniger erfolgreich…

Meinung:
Das Buch ist recht klein und dünn und liest sich mit seinen nur 100 Seiten in einer Halben Stunde durch. Dazu kommen die Illustrationen, die mal in Farbe und mal in Schwarzweiss sind. Eine süße, kleine, und unterhaltsame Lektüre für Zwischendurch.
Aya hat ihren eigenen Kopf und will ihren Willen durchsetzen; und dafür geht sie kreative Wege und lässt keinen Schabernack aus.
Mir hat das Lesen des Buchs viel Spaß gemacht, wenn auch die Geschichte an sich recht übersichtlich ist und nur an der Oberfläche kratzt und das Potenzial durch die Kürze einfach nicht völlig ausgeschöpft wurde.
So geht es ausschließlich darum, wie Aya in ihrem neuen Zuhause zurechtkommt und sich den Respekt von Bella Yaga und dem Mandrakus verschafft.
Gerne hätte ich noch mehr von Ayas Vergangenheit und Familie erfahren. Ayas Mutter hat Aya beim Waisenhaus ausgesetzt, da sie von anderen Hexen gejagt wurde. Warum war das so und was ist daraus geworden? Das hätte mich definitiv noch interessiert. So bleibt diese kleine Geschichte halt einfach nur eine kleines süße Geschichte, mehr auch nicht.
Auch ist die Geschichte recht kindlich und somit eher etwas für jüngere Leser, aber natürlich auch für Junggebliebene Erwachsene ;-)

3 - 3,5 Sterne 🌟

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up the novel because of the Studio Ghibli adaptation, but I’m a bit disappointed that the whole rock band storyline wasn’t part of the actual book(not as fleshed out characters etcetera). The ending for Bella Yoga felt borderline sexist and ageist (though it’s admittedly on par with classic British children’s literature). I can definitely see the inspiration that the queen of derivative prose herself J.K. Rowling took from this book and its writing.

I think it will be a hit with my kids tho.

[Rachel (Kalanadi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jennifer Bacall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones (most known as the author of Howl's Moving Castle) and illustrated by Caldecott award winner Paul O. Zelinsky is a bouncy mystical read for middle grade children. Its timeless in that no pop culture or technologies are referenced yet it reads like an old story partially due to the British food references, (pie and chips) and language choices, (higgledy-piggledy).

Earwig is a confident and controlling orphan who attempts to avoid adoption because she has created a situation of control at her current orphanage. One day she is chosen for adoption by a creepy looking couple who bring her to a house where not everything is at it appears. Although its a fun read, it isn’t a memorable read as the end of the story fumbles to conclusion. There is conflict and a bit of resolution but ultimately the ending feels rushed and un-fulfilling.

(Diana Wynne Jones was born in 1934 and wrote dozens of book before her death in March of 2011. This title is being released posthumously.)

[Mili Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute little story! I was a little worried about what Goro Miyazaki has done to the Ghibli empire with this one but i hope to get my hands on the new movie soon to see the adaptation myself!!!!

[Luly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cortito y cute, aunque nada de otro mundo

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute book. The illustrations are a standout and I particularly like how the mandrake is drawn.
I’ve never seen the ghibli movie that came out based on this but I am a longtime ghibli and Diana Wynne jones fan. I went to the ghibli park in japan last year and they have the valley of the witches where scenes from earwig are incorporated with Kiki and howls moving castle.
I definitely see how this book is reminiscent of howls moving castle (absolutely they are not the same earwig has a much younger target audience) but reminiscent. Lines of dialogue or descriptions of places remind me of how howls moving castle was written. Little pieces here and there also give me coraline flashbacks.
Let’s be real, if coraline were a ghibli movie it also would have been included in the valley of the witches at the ghibli park.
Anyways where am I going with this…..I like this book, it’s a sweet and easy read and it reminded me of many things I deeply love.

[Zeilenfantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich bin eigentlich ein großer Fan von Kurzgeschichten, doch hier hat mir ein wenig Tiefgang gefehlt. Ja, Diana Wynne Jones ist jetzt nicht gerade für einen emotionalen Schreibstil bekannt, aber ein wenig mehr
hätte ich mir gewünscht. Aber das ist nur mein subjektives Wahrnehmen.

Es war mir einfach zu schnell vorbei und zu schnell abgehandelt. Ein paar mehr Seiten hätten noch mal
einiges rausgeholt. Ich hätte gerne mehr Hintergrund Infos und mehr zu der Vergangenheit Ayas gehabt,
man wird hier einfach ein wenig ins kalte Wasser geschuppst, ohne zu wissen was denn überhaupt
Phase ist.

Doch die Story an sich war wirklich niedlich. Es war ein kurzweiliges Erlebnis für zwischendurch. Aya ist ein pfiffiges kleines Mädchen, dass sich nicht auf der Nase rum tanzen und als billige Hauskraft missbrauchen lässt, das mochte ich sehr gerne.

Optisches bewerte ich ja eigentlich weniger, doch das Buch war voll mit wunderschönen Illustrationen, die das Leseerlebnis noch mal ungemein aufgewertet haben! Die Geschichte ist, denke ich, auch sehr gut für junge Leser:Innen geeignet, vorallem durch die wunderschönen Illustrationen!

FAZIT
Eine niedliche Geschichte, die Potential für mehr gehabt hätte

[Emma Cathryne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in advance of watching the new Ghibli movie, and got about what I expected from it. A cute, early grade children's chapter book that tells the story of raucous orphan Earwig who wants to learn magic so she can make her new foster parents bow to her will. Earwig is a classic Jones protagonist: a no-nonsense child with a single-minded goal. The side-characters were spectacular: Bella Yaga and her ominous threat of worms, the fiery, reclusive Mandrake, and Bella Yaga's snarky familiar, the cat Thomas. This is the Jones book that feels most in the spirit of Roald Dahl and Eva Ibboston, probably due to the targeted age bracket being slightly younger than I'm used to with her novels.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars

Die Illustrationen fand ich eigentlich ganz süß gemacht, aber die Geschichte an sich verwirrt mich schon etwas. Weiß nicht genau, was mir die Story sagen wollte und es fühlte sich auch irgendwie an, als wäre das nur ein Teil der Geschichte gewesen und es gäbe noch weitere Abenteuer mit Aya und der Hexe. Mit mehr Seiten und einem besser ausgebautem Plot könnte ich mir gut vorstellen, dass es ein richtig tolles Abenteuer für Kinder hätte sein können, denn die Grundzutaten waren da.

[Susy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Fun story about witches, demons and magic with a somewhat abrupt ending but enjoyable nonetheless. Not sure yet whether to round it up to 4 stars or down to 3….

Characters 8
Atmosphere 8
Writing Style 8
Setup 8
Plot 7
Intrigue 7
Logic 7
Enjoyment 7

[Pinkerton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mumble mumble, non mi ha affatto convinto, soprattutto da parte di un’autrice così famosa. Una storiella come se ne trovano tante su una ragazzina apprendista strega… avrà a che fare con un'altra strega - lei sì davvero cattiva, un demone, e un gatto. Riuscirà a far volgere a proprio favore la brutta situazione in cui si è ritrovata, grazie al potere della persuasione. Il repentino cambiamento avviene in un battibaleno che conduce immediatamente allo stringato epilogo, dopo essersi dilungati tanto su colorite quanto inconcludenti descrizioni che ricreano il minimo sindacale d’atmosfera.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun read for any child who's wanted to learn witchcraft!

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would considering I wasn't the biggest fan of the Studio Ghibli movie. I may have to give it another try.

I just wish it had been longer!

[Sabrina Mele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hoping there was information about her mother.