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Druscilla's Halloween
Did witches always ride brooms? No! In fact, long, long ago, witches crept about on tiptoe. On Halloween, they would scare children and cast spells . . . but always from the ground. No witch ever thought of flying―no witch until Druscilla. Druscilla was an old witch with the loudest, creakiest knees anyone had ever heard. But she was determined not to let anything spoil her element of surprise. One Halloween, after many failed attempts at sneaking up on unsuspecting villagers, Druscilla made a discovery that changed the course of witch history.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Sally M. Walker
107 books78 followersSally M. Walker has written science books for children, including Earthquakes, an NSTA/CBC Best Science Trade Book of 1997. She lives in DeKalb, IL.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 16, 2018
Who knew that the reason witches now ride broomsticks is all due to one witches creaky snappy knees. This was a fun tale of a witches quest to be able to continue to scare people on Halloween. She experiments. How does the saying go, "need is the invention of all things" or something similar to that. Well, this witch gets creative and tries anything to get to town. I thought the artwork had a whimsical quality to it and was interesting and fun.
We read this to both kids and they had fun with this little book. They laughed at the missteps that Druscilla makes. When she was in the wheelbarrow going down the hill tickled them and also her snappy knees popping so loud it scared the critters. They gave the book 4 stars from the niece and 5 stars from the nephew. We enjoyed the book.
We read this to both kids and they had fun with this little book. They laughed at the missteps that Druscilla makes. When she was in the wheelbarrow going down the hill tickled them and also her snappy knees popping so loud it scared the critters. They gave the book 4 stars from the niece and 5 stars from the nephew. We enjoyed the book.
October 24, 2019
Druscilla was a witch with a problem! How was she to sneak up on the unsuspecting child, and fulfill her Halloween duty of frightening her (but only as much as she wanted to be frightened), when her creaking joints gave her presence away every time? Without the element of surprise, it seemed that Druscilla's Halloween was ruined! But then the arthritic old witch began to experiment with other ways of getting around, eventually enchanting her broom...
An enjoyable little book, perfect as a spooky holiday read, Druscilla's Halloween offers a witchy pourquoi tale, explaining why witches fly around on broomsticks, and is significantly enhanced by the appealing illustrations of Lee White. Slightly bent shapes, fun color contrasts, and a quirky sensibility that is somewhat creepy (but not terribly frightening), all come together in the artwork here, producing pages that young readers will enjoy examining, as they read the text.
An enjoyable little book, perfect as a spooky holiday read, Druscilla's Halloween offers a witchy pourquoi tale, explaining why witches fly around on broomsticks, and is significantly enhanced by the appealing illustrations of Lee White. Slightly bent shapes, fun color contrasts, and a quirky sensibility that is somewhat creepy (but not terribly frightening), all come together in the artwork here, producing pages that young readers will enjoy examining, as they read the text.
October 16, 2012
Druscilla’s sore, ancient knees crack, creak, pop and keep her from sneaking and spooking like all the younger witches on Halloween. Her struggles lead to an evocative (excellent descriptive verbs!) imagining of why witches fly on broomsticks. Cute, with perfectly gloomy illustrations.
October 20, 2019
This is sort of an origin story regarding why witches fly on broomsticks. It's not historically accurate, but it is rather fun.
Long ago, witches didn't fly on broomsticks. They tiptoed and snuck up on people to scare them. But Druscilla was old, and her knees creaked. A lot. Their audible pops and snaps meant that she couldn't sneak up on anybody. But Halloween was coming, and she was a witch, so she had to figure out a way to join in the hijinks. Various methods failed her... and then she stumbled across a solution where she was least expecting it.
It's a fun little story with cute illustrations that are fun to look at. I liked seeing how the witches prepared for Halloween (it involves styling products and cats), and it was amusing to see how Druscilla's knees acted as a warning to everyone about her approach. (I don't really agree with some other reviewers that this book makes fun of the disabled. Noisy knees on their own aren't exactly a disability; they're just a nuisance. Druscilla says it herself when she talks to them: "Hush, you treacherous old knees. You're robbing me of the element of surprise." She gets around just fine. She's just... loud.)
This is a fun Halloween book that offers a different spin on why witches fly on broomsticks. It's cute and clever, and kids will probably enjoy it. (It's also nice to see a Halloween story that isn't focused on candy.)
Quotable moment:
Long ago, witches didn't fly on broomsticks. They tiptoed and snuck up on people to scare them. But Druscilla was old, and her knees creaked. A lot. Their audible pops and snaps meant that she couldn't sneak up on anybody. But Halloween was coming, and she was a witch, so she had to figure out a way to join in the hijinks. Various methods failed her... and then she stumbled across a solution where she was least expecting it.
It's a fun little story with cute illustrations that are fun to look at. I liked seeing how the witches prepared for Halloween (it involves styling products and cats), and it was amusing to see how Druscilla's knees acted as a warning to everyone about her approach. (I don't really agree with some other reviewers that this book makes fun of the disabled. Noisy knees on their own aren't exactly a disability; they're just a nuisance. Druscilla says it herself when she talks to them: "Hush, you treacherous old knees. You're robbing me of the element of surprise." She gets around just fine. She's just... loud.)
This is a fun Halloween book that offers a different spin on why witches fly on broomsticks. It's cute and clever, and kids will probably enjoy it. (It's also nice to see a Halloween story that isn't focused on candy.)
Quotable moment:
August 23, 2019
This is the story of a witch that makes too much noise because of her crackly knees and she isn't included with the other witches when they sneak up on villagers for a good freight. The part of the glued on wings and the rain remind me a bit of Icarus flying too close to the sun.
October 30, 2017
Another book with Halloween as the topic...if you don't like or celebrate move on...
Cute tale about how witches fly on broom sticks...who knew it was because they had bad knees...LOL
Cute tale about how witches fly on broom sticks...who knew it was because they had bad knees...LOL
October 25, 2024
my knees 🤝 druscilla’s knees
October 2, 2014
I absolutely love this book and I think it helps because I absolutely love Halloween. This book is fun and makes children think. This book talks about how the witch discover riding on a broom and why she does ride on a broom. The whole story is an adventure with the witch talking about her Halloween night and how she plans for it to be spooky and scary. The only problem was that her knees crackle so everyone hears her before she can even scare anyone. I love the story line and think its a creative and cute way to tell a story about a witch. The illustrations are wonderful as well because just by looking at them you can tell that it has something to do with Halloween. I do recommend for teachers to read this book around this time of year because I know children will probably enjoy it as much as I did.
October 20, 2010
Druscilla's Halloween answers the age old question "Why do witches in western folklore and pop culture ride on broomsticks?" It's not because brooms were used in pagan, harvest time, fertility rites or because broomsticks were everyday household items with which Puritan women in league with the Devil could get into mischief. It's because one "a million spells ago" witches had to tiptoe up to people to scare and bewitch them, and poor Druscilla always got left out of the fun because her creaky knees gave her away every time. So, after some humorously unsuccessful schemes, she casts a spell on her broom, and the rest is history.
The oil and colored pencil illustrations are gorgeous, bright, and lively. The story is so-so.
The oil and colored pencil illustrations are gorgeous, bright, and lively. The story is so-so.
October 31, 2011
I thought this was a cute and clever story that tells why/how witches began riding brooms. I liked the illustrations and I loved that while Druscilla's plans to go and scare the kids just the perfect amount on Halloween didn't work out the way she planned, she didn't give up. When her plan failed, she came up with a new plan... several times. Great way to talk about determination, not quitting, etc. Plus, I laughed out loud at the line. ..."Don't count me out. I have not yet begun to fright!" :) Loved that clever little historical reference.
November 7, 2016
Druscilla is a witch with creaky, noisy knees who finds that she can't sneak up on people and scare them because her knees make too much noise. She is a clever, creative witch and tries to come up with other ways to get around. She finally enchants and broom to make a fly and voila! She is the first witch to fly on a broomstick. My daughter enjoyed this book and admired Druscilla for her problem solving abilities. Great illustrations and a nice, empathetic sidekick cat.
March 25, 2016
GR Level: ??
Lexile: ??
E WAL
Druscilla is the oldest witch in the group and her creaky knees give her away every time. What can she do to still sneak and trick on Halloween? Read through and find out what marvelous plan Druscilla comes up with that modern day witches take for granted.
Lexile: ??
E WAL
Druscilla is the oldest witch in the group and her creaky knees give her away every time. What can she do to still sneak and trick on Halloween? Read through and find out what marvelous plan Druscilla comes up with that modern day witches take for granted.
December 29, 2015
The book was adorable. Druscilla finds a new way for witches to spook. The illustrations are a bit rough, but fit the story. While I am an adult, I have no kids of my own, I felt like some of the words were pretty big for kids. I guess it is a good way to teach them.
March 25, 2016
Druscilla is the oldest witch in the group and her creaky knees give her away every time. What can she do to still sneak and trick on Halloween? Read through and find out what marvelous plan Druscilla comes up with that modern day witches take for granted.
October 26, 2009
The story of how witchs came to ride on brooms. Getting a bit creaky myself, I feel for Druscilla and her snap-crackle-pop noisy knees. I love her spunk!
Read
September 8, 2010Huh... I didn't exactly follow this story. But the art is fabulous- love it!
October 31, 2012
Did witches always ride brooms? Story of how one old witch with creeky knees enchants the first broom to fly.
July 18, 2012
a cute story about how the broomstick came to be the witch's vehicle of choice.
August 13, 2012
This is a fun story, I liked it because my knees creak! A smart witch...
October 3, 2012
Cute story and pictures! Probably more of a 3 1/2 star for me personally, but it's a fun one for Halloween.
October 11, 2012
funny Halloween story
themes: broomsticks, determination, Halloween, ingenuity, witches
themes: broomsticks, determination, Halloween, ingenuity, witches
February 19, 2013
"Once upon a Halloween, a million spells ago, witches prepared for a spine-chilling night."
Good book with an interesting view.
Good book with an interesting view.
May 31, 2013
Why do witches ride broomsticks on Halloween night?
September 30, 2015
I enjoyed the illustrations, but the writing and story-line was just sort of weird.
September 21, 2016
Could see using this book to talk about things like vivid verb choice, adjectives, and onomatopoeia. May be a perfect October read aloud to talk words!
October 26, 2016
Hilarious pictures!
November 6, 2016
Ever wonder why witches ride brooms? This humorous Halloween tale of witches haunting will give you the scoop on how it came about.
October 21, 2017
Creative and amusing story about why witches ride brooms.
October 28, 2017
This was well written for a picture book! And I understand Druscilla, basically any time my knees bend, they crack :-p
October 30, 2017
How on earth did the myth start? No tiptoeing for Druscilla because her creaky knees make too much noise! A fun read with entertaining pics.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews