The Little Witch Sisters

by Stephanie Calmenson, R.W. Alley (Illustrator)

Before they go out and make magic, Plinka and Trinka must mix a magical brew. Lazy Trinka would rather sleep than help, so Plinka decides to use some magic on her sister to make her change her mind.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Witches, Halloween

48 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Stephanie Calmenson's many popular titles include concept books, funny school stories, poetry collections, books about dogs and, with Magic School Bus author Joanna Cole, anthologies and beginning reader chapter books.

Stephanie's books have been called "marvelous" (PW), "lyrical" (SLJ), "hilarious" (SLJ), "sweet, funny, and right on the mark" (Booklist).

Before turning to writing, Stephanie was a teacher, a children's book editor, and Editorial Director of Parents Magazine's Read-Aloud Book Club.

Website: my link text

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sisters Plinka and Trinka Witch discover that they are out of the magic brew needed for their usual hi-jinks in this witchy re-imagining of the traditional tale of The Little Red Hen. As Plinka sets out to make some more of the brew - doing the a rain dance to procure water for the pot, performing a special spell to summon the necessary mushrooms - Trinka refuses to help, spending most of the afternoon napping. Predictably, once the brew is finished, Trinka wants to join in the play - but will Plinka allow her to do so...?

I thought that Stephanie Calmenson's revisionist solution to this classic teaching tale, in which one member of a group does all the work, and then enjoys the rewards of her labor, was really quite creative! It turns out that, although the work of making the brew is finished, there is still more to do, in the form of cleaning up the resultant mess. I liked the fact that Trinka is given a chance to redeem herself, after her initial failures. I also liked the accompanying artwork by R.W. Alley, which was colorful and cute. All in all The Little Witch Sisters was a fun little picture-book, one I would recommend to younger children looking for witchy fare.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the stash of my old picture books from when I was a kid. Such memories! This was one of my favourites, and rereading it as an adult it is just as good. A very cute story with colourful and fun illustrastions.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Has a good message to encourage working together.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot when I was a kid. I had many picture books (mostly hand me downs from older cousins). I cannot remember how I ended up with this one, but there are several names in the inside cover meaning that it got around before it ended up belonging to me (and has ever since I was three). The story is about two little witch sisters. Plinka of them is very ambitious and wants to make a potion. Tinka is very lazy and likes to do her own thing. So, Plinka does what any sister would do, when she's done the potion, she uses magic on her sister and transforms her into several creatures. What are sisters for, right?
This is a cute little book, perfect for Halloween and great for a kid around 5-6 years old (depending on their reading level).
Side note: when I was a kid, I wanted to reproduce the potion recipe from this book. I ended up substituting a lot of things and ended up making it all in a pail for making sandcastles. I left my mixture outside hoping that it would become magical overnight. While I did have a weird looking brown mixture to clean up, I had a lot of fun and, this book was very memorable for me.