Knock! Knock!

by Jan Wahl, Mary Newell DePalma (Illustrator)

A perfect spooky read-aloud for any time of year

A long time ago, in Scotland, a little witch named Ella La Grimble sat alone at her spinning wheel when she heard a KNOCK! KNOCK! at her door.

Who could be coming to the door at this time of night? Who, or what, is waiting outside, and why have they come . . . ?

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Jan Wahl was an American author best known for his imaginative and influential children’s books, which combined wit, warmth and a deep respect for young readers. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Wahl showed artistic promise early, performing piano on children’s radio programs and appearing on stage alongside legendary magician Harry Blackstone Sr. He studied at Cornell University, where he took classes with Vladimir Nabokov, and continued his education in Europe as a Fulbright scholar before completing graduate studies in the United States.
Wahl began publishing children’s books in the mid-1960s and quickly became a prolific and celebrated voice in the field, ultimately writing more than 120 works. Titles such as Pleasant Fieldmouse, The Furious Flycycle and Humphrey’s Bear earned him a devoted readership and critical acclaim. His stories were frequently illustrated by major artists, including Edward Gorey, Maurice Sendak and Mercer Mayer, and were praised for their playful tone, emotional intelligence and sense of empowerment.
Beyond writing, Wahl led an unusually rich cultural life, working with filmmakers, writers and artists, lecturing widely on film history and literature, and maintaining close ties to both the literary and cinematic worlds.

Reviews

[Cathy]

KNOCK! KNOCK! is a mysterious story. One night Witch Ella La Grimble heard two loud knocks on her door. She opens the door and two BIG BOOTS walk in. Two more knocks and there were two teenie weenie legs, they came in and jumped in the boots, by the fire. then two hard knees came and jumped on the legs. Then a large kilt plopped down on the knees. then a belt, a shirt with a hairy chest, the two heavy hairy arms, then two hairy hands, in rolled a pumpkin size head. It was a large man came to keep her company! It's a fun story about what comes next.

[Sharie]

Halloween book (not joke book)

[Michael Papineau-Couture]

A young witch by the name of Ella La Grimble sits alone at her spinning wheel when she hears a knock at the door. Visited by different body parts, her guests are strange indeed. Why have they come to her? And what will her guests do?

I found the book to be interesting with the idea of a giant arriving in the night, body part by body part. However, reading this book to my young daughter, she was distracted by the length of time it took for the various parts of the giant to finally come together. This book took a bit too long to tell the story. The visual elements were good with the various body parts, from legs to a waist to shoulders, all making an impression with their individual entrances. Overall a decent picture book.

[Christine Turner]

A little witch sitting alone at her spinning wheel hears a knock at her door, but the various body parts that enter are not much company. www.hcpl.net

[Jen]

Really weird.

[Paula]

A little witch sitting alone at her spinning wheel hears a knock at her door, but the various body parts that enter are not much company.

[Shelli]

I really like strange, unusual and down right weird books. This book was too weird for even me to get though. I think most people will greatly dislike.

[Miss Kelly]

Not a big fan of this book, it is okay. Tje story is about a little girl wiitch who keeps getting knocks on the door that eventually builds a big witch. Kind of odd story.

[Beverly]

Simplified version of a traditional scare story. With a Scottish ghost.