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Lotje/Lizzy #1

Die neugierige kleine Hexe

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HARD TO FIND

28 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

2 people are currently reading
251 people want to read

About the author

Lieve Baeten

54 books21 followers
Lieve Baeten was a Flemish author and illustrator, best known for her picture-book series about Lotje, the curious little witch. She studied graphic design at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, and married Koen Fossey in 1976.

Baeten's stories about Lotje (Patou in French, Die kleine Hexe in German, and Lizzie in English) have been translated into fourteen languages, and the author/artist has received several important prizes, from the "Boekenpauw" in 1993 for Nieuwsgierige Lotje (The Curious Little Witch), to the "Kinderboekwinkelprijs" in 1995 for Lotje is Jarig (Happy Birthday, Little Witch!).

Baeten was killed in a car accident in 2001.

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5 stars
169 (39%)
4 stars
147 (34%)
3 stars
96 (22%)
2 stars
17 (3%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Calista.
5,437 reviews31.3k followers
October 8, 2018
Such a curious little book. It's Quirky and light hearted. It's an unusual take on a story.

Lizzy, the Little witch spots a house with the light still on. She peeks in the attic window and falls in the house breaking her broom. The story is her going down each floor seeking help from a different witch to fix her broom. There is a music witch and a Kitchen witch and so on.

I guess witches have a higher degree of hospitality because instead of worrying that someone broke in, they talk with her and let her go further into the house. It's an interesting thing and kinda funny. Lizzy just sneaks around the house.

It is neat how every other page has a full page spread with a half page on one side, so you read the story, turn the half page and read more story and see more details of the room you are in. I love the Kitchen Witch scene when the little cat is try to eat a double decker hamburger that is as large as it is. Very cute.

I love the artwork and all the details put in. It's such an interesting take on a story. Lizzy is curious and she explores this house. The story ends with her going to check out another house.

This is translated into English from Dutch and German. I take it this series was popular over there. I like that it makes this story a little different and unusual to my reading sensibility. Both kids were able to read this and they enjoyed it and couldn't understand why she would just go walking around someone else's home uninvited. It was funny to them. They gave it 5 stars and they liked the half pages as well. The niece wants to be a witch for Halloween, so I think she was checking out what all the witches were wearing. I think she wants to be a more glamorous witch than these girls were. She has some fun ideas about it. I will be at school on Halloween and I'm sad I won't get to see her in costume.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
4,803 reviews
May 27, 2011
I'm so happy my library finally got a copy of this charming story of a young witch who goes out looking for something to explore--after all, she is a *curious* little witch--with her adorable striped tabby cat. When she arrives at a house that still has its lights on one night, she can't help but take a peek through the window--but when she falls through and her broom is broken, she isn't sure anyone in the house will be able to help her. Especially when the musical witch, the baking witch, and the bedtime witch don't have any handyman (er, witch) skills. After exploring the house, will the curious witch find what she is looking for in the basement?

The illustrations are the winner in this story. I loved the details, from all the things in the various cluttered rooms of the home to the various animals (especially the cats) in the home. I think my favorite room was the bedroom because of all the cute animals there--I think I even saw a wide-eyed bush baby ;-)

Best of all, this is a lift-the-flap book and I used to love those as a child. I think this book will be a winner with children who are curious and eager to pore over illustrations. I've marked it as a Halloween read due to the witches (it is shelved thus in the library) but I think it could be enjoyed at any time of the year as there is nothing specifically Halloween about it. Thanks to my friend Abigail for bringing this one to my attention!
Profile Image for Abigail.
8,045 reviews272 followers
November 18, 2018
Originally published in Dutch, as Nieuwsgierige Lotje ("Curious Lottie"), this delightfully witchy picture-book from Flemish author Lieve Baeten, apparently one of a series, was first translated into English back in 1992 (the year of its publication) - released in the UK as The Curious Witch, it seems to have been published as Nicky at the Magic House in Canada - before eventually going out of print. With the release of this new 2010 edition from North-South books, it has finally been made available to English readers once again, and to children here in the USA for the very first time. All I can say is: it's about time!

When Lizzy, a little witch with more curiosity than prudence, passes an old house with every window ablaze, she interrupts her nighttime flight to investigate, crashing through the attic window by mistake, and breaking her broom! Now what will she do? Give in to her curiosity, of course, and explore the house, following her ears and her nose, and meeting a variety of witchy inhabitants...

With an engrossing but lighthearted narrative, and lovely illustrations which perfectly capture both the magic of the tale and the character of its heroine, The Curious Little Witch is a worthy addition to any witchy collection! I particularly like Baeten's use of light, in the creation of scenes full of inviting warmth, as well as the design of the pages themselves, with half-pages giving way to full ones that show the rest of the room in question. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys stories of sweet witches, ala Dorrie the Little Witch !
Profile Image for Insa.
6 reviews
February 15, 2021
this is ittt. my original witch obsession. I remember ‚reading‘ this to my mom before I could actually read, having memorised every word on every page. twenty years later living in a tree house with my cat and practising witchcraft still sounds like the dream to be honest. I take comfort in knowing that my mom is still holding on to all of those books and keeping them safe so she can read them to all of her grandchildren.
Profile Image for Lisa Vegan.
2,926 reviews1,328 followers
July 8, 2012
Ha! Specialist witches! I loved that!

I know this story is supposed to be gentle and sweet and a not scary witch story, but I think some children might find it a bit sinister the first time they hear/read it, given that on every page Lizzy the curious witch encounters someone who could be a scary witch, and is in a new situation in a strange place with only her adorable, also curious, cat for company. (I’ll bet I might be the only Goodreads’ reviewer who sees it this way though.) Lizzy and her orange tabby cat are truly delightful, as are all the witches she encounters.

The pictures are glorious; they’re intricate and really fun to peruse and aesthetically pleasing, and I can’t say they’re at all scary, except for maybe their dark tones. The large flaps are great and the details are marvelous. I particularly liked all the animals. I liked the story but I loved the illustrations, and they’re the main reason I’m rating this book so highly.
Profile Image for ♡ Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡  .
5,280 reviews650 followers
September 5, 2023
Lisbet ist eine kleine Hexe. Sie fliegt umher und entdeckt ein interessantes Haus. Sie ist neugierig, und da ihr Besenstil kaputt ist, schaut sie sich im Haus um. Sie stößt auf weitere Hexen, von der jede etwas Besonderes kann. Doch kann ihr auch jemand helfen, den Besen zu reparieren?
Dies ist ein Buch für die kleinsten Leser bzw. eher zum Vorlesen gedacht oder gemeinsam lesen mit den Kindern.
Es ist eine schöne Geschichte, die Leseanfängern sicherlich Freude schenkt.
Profile Image for Ann.
540 reviews
May 30, 2011
This is an adorable book about the "Curious Little Witch" who's flying around on her broomstick at night. But when she falls through an open window and breaks her broomstick, she must search the house to find someone to fix it.

What she finds is a series of witches who each have something specific they do - the musical witch, the cooking witch, etc.

Each page is a delight - especially visually! I love the cat on every page, and all the animals in the one scene, especially. What's really fun is that the book isn't so much a "lift the flap" as a "lift half the page" to see the "what happens"!

I'm not sure how I feel about the "each witch doing her own thing and really nothing else", but other than that it's a really fun (and adorably illustrated) story!


Thanks for the recommendations, Abigail!!! :)
Profile Image for Set.
2,196 reviews
September 18, 2019
The cover illustration is cute, the inside illustrations are creepy. This is a story about a witch that bursts into a home through the window, breaks her broom and she makes her way around the house trying to find someone to fix her broken broom to fly away again. It's not a Halloween themed story, it just has a nosy witch character.
Profile Image for Neele.
174 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2023
Okay ich bin nostalgisch ich weiß aber dieses Buch ist einfach nur wundervoll und ich liebe alles daran.
Profile Image for Chechoui.
195 reviews8 followers
February 21, 2012
I absolutely adored the illustrations in this book and would have particularly loved them as a child. I like the all female cast of characters (all witches with different talents) and find this empowering for a young girl to read. I believe young boys will enjoy the book as well. What draws me most to Lieve Baeten's work is all the rich details in her books. It's like a game of "I spy" -- children will see new details every time they read it. There are tiny little insects, faces on slippers, and animals here and there to be spied. My favorite part is all the cute cats featured in her books. I also really enjoy the bit of steampunk that appears in each of her books. In this case it is a fanciful house that is haphazardly stacked together with steampunk-esque technology (although mixed in with more recent technology as well). It's a blend of times and artifacts from an unknown make believe land.
10 reviews
October 11, 2017
Lizzy, the curious little witch, crashes through the window of a house and breaks her broomstick. She asks the first witch she finds if she can fix the broomstick, but she cannot. Lizzy keeps searching the house for someone who can fix her broomstick, and because each witch has a specialty, this proves to be very difficult. She finally stumbles upon the bottom floor and finds the witch who can finally fix her broomstick. This book shows that with a little curiosity, and a little determination, you can fix any problem. I like this book because the illustrations are beautiful, and they way the pages flow are very unique. My name is also Lizzie, so I would have loved that as a kid. I recommend this book to introduce young children to international literature as the author is from Belgium. It is a quick and funny read and will keep the children engaged and laughing.
1,352 reviews
September 2, 2012
LOVED this one. The energetic, curious, active "little witch" crashes into a house with her broomstick. She then wanders through the house, trying to find a witch who can help her fix the broomstick - there are all sorts of witches there: a Kitchen Witch, a Music Witch... Finally she finds the bad-ass Tinkering Witch, who is wearing overalls and high heels, and who easily fixes her broomstick - by giving it rocket power! Only the Belgians could come up with a book this awesome. It was so nice to find a feminist-friendly, witch-positive kids' book.
Profile Image for Heidi.
755 reviews34 followers
June 2, 2017
I adored this book we stumbled upon in the library. The cover art reminded me of a title from my childhood (not the same one, but this had me picking it up for a closer look). I loved the creative artwork and the page layouts (normally I don't like the mix of long/short pages or where I have to turn the book... but it really works here. Definitely would read again and recommend taking a closer look at the illustrations. The detail is amazing and short sentences for reading out loud made this a great bedtime story where we could also appreciate the illustrations as we read.
Profile Image for Stacia Leigh.
Author 6 books47 followers
January 4, 2016
Superb illustrations! Loved all the little details...like finding the cat and mouse, counting the crows and bats, and trying to find the spider's web pattern in almost all the pages. Fun! At first I wondered about where the stairs were but at the end of the story, I saw the layout of the house and then went back to find where the ladders were in the pictures...more search and finding.

Cute, straight-forward story. I enjoyed exploring this book.
Profile Image for Gina.
230 reviews1 follower
July 24, 2019
The curious little witch has to investigate an old house that is lit up in the night. She accidentally breaks her broomstick and must find a witch to fix it. She explores every floor of the house, each containing a witch who specializes in something, but will she find the witch who can fix? Wonderful illustrations, with plenty of detail will have little ones investigating each page! Loved it!
Profile Image for Alice.
17 reviews
June 5, 2017
This book is an absolute favourite of Miss 2.5. It is the first book she requests at reading time and I'm currently reading it 2-3 times daily. She loves that some pages are a shorter length and the way it transforms the scene we are reading. She also loves the full diagram of the house at the end of the book and enjoys tracing Lizzie's path through the house.
Profile Image for Liselotte.
1,214 reviews13 followers
October 26, 2021
Mening van groep 2:
De kinderen vinden dit een heel leuk boekje! De paperback is niet zo groot als het originele boek dus je mist wel een aantal dingen. Ik heb ze in geen tijden zo geïnteresseerd gezien in een boek!

mening van de juf
Ik hou van de Lotje boeken, maar tja, dat krijg je als je als kind altijd Lotje werd genoemd. Ze kunnen bij mij nooit fout gaan!
Profile Image for Matthieu Wegh.
908 reviews
May 8, 2024
? Nostalgie voor mij omdat ik dit boek ook voorlas aan mijn dochter toen ze nog heel klein was.
🤔 Het gaat wel over heksen, toveren en muizen, maar het is een lief boekje dus kan ook gewoon voor kleinere kinderen.
MW 9/5/22
Deze week voorgelezen en nadat ik vroeg of ze het een leuk verhaal vonden zeiden de meisjes die ik voorlas beiden volmondig "ja"
MW 12/5/22
Profile Image for Tricia.
2,669 reviews
November 30, 2010
Fun story about a little witch who breaks her broomstick as she curiously looks inside a house. As fate would have it, this house is home to some witches. Which witch will have the talent to mend her broken broomstick?
Profile Image for Grace.
93 reviews3 followers
March 1, 2011
Delightful illustrations show a little witches travels through a house on a search for someone to fix her broken broomstick. She finds no help from the Music Witch, the Kitchen Witch, or the Bedroom Witch. But the curious little witch is persistent and she keeps looking for help.
Profile Image for J9.
2,292 reviews132 followers
October 23, 2013
A cute little lift the flap book about a little witch on Halloween that is great for all ages. The illustrations are beautifully detailed and will keep everyone engaged. Great addition to any library.
Profile Image for Rowan.
29 reviews1 follower
October 12, 2015
I thought this book was adorable and a lot of fun, but Rowan is unconvinced. She sat through the whole thing and helped turn the pages, but she wasn't as excited about it as she is with most other books.
Profile Image for Pam.
1,651 reviews
October 16, 2015
A witch, who is an engineer, how could I not love this book! Cute illustrations, an interesting adventure through a strange house of witches. I will definitely try to find Lieve Baeten's other Little Witch books!
Profile Image for Catherine.
346 reviews1 follower
October 6, 2011
Max really enjoyed this book - I think because of the illustrations.
Profile Image for Kelly (Maybedog).
3,616 reviews239 followers
July 3, 2012
3.5 stars Adorable illustrations, okay story. But why wasn't anyone upset that she was close enough to their window that she fell through? Rounding down for that.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews