Wickedishrag

by Eugenie Fernandes

Gwendel was a very naughty Princess whose favorite game was playing witch and frightening people. Then, one Halloween, a real witch comes and carries her off to the Wicked Witches Kingdom.

A Stardust Book.

Genres: Halloween

26 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Eugenie Fernandes is a children’s author-illustrators. She has published more than ninety books. Her paintings for illustrations have been used by UNICEF to create cards and puzzles, and by One Hen to create educational websites. Some of paintings from are on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A naughty little princess named Gwendal makes a general nuisance of herself in this sweet fairy-tale from 1968, bullying the servants and dressing up as a witch. One Halloween, a real witch mistakes her for one of her own kind, and whisks her away to the Wicked Witches Kingdom. Here Gwendal becomes Wickedishrag - so named because her duties include washing the witches' dishes - and begins her life as an apprentice witch. Learning to cast a spell, fly a broomstick, and haunt a house, she is content at first, but the charm eventually wears off. When the witches realize that Wickedishrag is no witch, but a girl in disguise, our heroine returns home, only to discover that her fake witch's nose won't come off, and no one recognizes her. Is it too late for her to become Gwendal again...?

Pairing a sweetly engaging story with cute illustrations, Wickedishrag is a fun little book - it really is quite small, being just slightly larger than the palm of my hand - and appeals to my love of witchy tales. If I had discovered it as a girl, it would most likely have been a personal favorite. The story is an interesting inversion of one I have seen in other witchy tales, where a little witch doesn't want to be a witch at all, and ends up being a fairy or a princess. Ida DeLage's Weeny Witch and Nurit Karlin's The Tooth Witch would be examples of this type of tale. In author/illustrator Eugenie's story, on the other hand, we see a princess who becomes a witch, at least for a time. The ending feels a little on the nose, when it comes to the moral message, but on the other hand, Gwendal's prior behavior really was obnoxious, particularly as it related to her treatment of her servants, so I enjoyed seeing her put to work in the royal kitchens. The illustrations alternate between black-and-white line drawings and those done in color, and are quite lovely. I'm glad to have tracked this one down, given my love of witchy picture-books, and only wish that Eugenie - a pseudonym, perhaps? - had done more in this vein. Recommended to young fairy-tale lovers, and to picture-book readers who enjoy witchy fare.

[Honore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the story is great: a naughty princess whos true calling is being a witch. The story goes off the rails for me when it starts to shoehorn a moral in. I think she would have had a much more exciting life if she had stayed Wickedishrag. The illustration that have her wearing a fake nose totally make me smile. I also love drawings where the character has a few grounding pieces of furniture and little contact clues on a white page, they remind me of some of Sendak's pocket books. Glad I had access to this book via my college inter-library loan system, guessing there aren't to many copies in circulation considering it was sent from Illinois to Rhode Island.

[skatoulaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book when I was a little girl:) I got a new copy a few years ago...just 'cuz!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had saved this book from my grandmother's house!

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A childhood favorite