Alice and Greta: A Tale of Two Witches

Alice and Greta #1

by Steven J. Simmons, Cyd Moore (Illustrator)

Alice is a good witch. And Greta... well, Greta and trouble are never far apart. Alice spends her time helping others by weaving her enchanting spells. All Greta does is wreak havoc. But when a forgotten spell comes back to haunt her, Greta's stuck learning something she should have learned long ago.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween, Fantasy, Childrens, Witches, Magic, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Steven J. Simmons is the author of several children’s books.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story! What I love is that Alice and Greta are given the same knowledge base at their little witches' school, yet they use the same spells in different ways, Alice uses them for the good and Greta uses them for the bad. I think this is such an important concept to share with kids, how we all have the power within us to be helpful or harmful. The story manages not to be overtly didactic, though. Rather, it's a humorous and delightful read and the accompanying illustrations are marvelous. Will Greta ever come to appreciate the Brwemerang Principle that she failed to take to heart in school? "Whatever you chant,/Whatever you brew,/Sooner or later/Comes back to you!"

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trained at the same magical academy - Miss Mildred Mildew's School of Magic - Alice and Greta knew the same spells and curses, the same chants and brews. But although they possessed the same knowledge, they understood it differently. Never were two witches more dissimilar: Alice liked to help, and Greta to harm. But Greta's ignorance of the "Brewmerang Principle" - Whatever you chant, Whatever you brew, Sooner or later Comes back to you! - led to a very sticky defeat, in the end...

I'm so glad that my friend Kathryn reminded me of Alice and Greta, which I first encountered a few years ago, while working in the children's section of a large bookstore. An adorably witchy picture-book, ideal for the Halloween season, it is an engaging holiday teaching-tale, exploring the idea that magic (like knowledge) can lead to either good or bad, depending upon the intentions of the person using it.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well hmm. A little too earnest for my taste, but the humor made the lesson palatable. The art is fun. But, honestly, who can blame poor Greta for being sour when she's cursed with such ugliness? If only the two had been equally ordinary-looking, with their disposition showing through in their carriage and grooming....

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I interpreted this story to have to morals:
1) you can choose to see the good or bad in life (though this wasn't explored as much as the following moral)
2) You get back what you put into the universe: "Whatever you chant, Whatever you brew, Sooner or later Comes back to you!"

The story is about two witches who both learn the same magic but for entirely different purposes. After graduating from witch school, the two witches go about witch-ly life, both using similar spells but for vastly different results. In the end, of course, our nasty witch gets her just desserts and must educate herself all over again on the most important magical lessons.

The word selections in the book are very delightful and clever, and the selection of spells that Simmons used were cute and fun to say (I found it amusing to try and figure out how the same spell would produce different results - I'm sure kids would have fun trying to figure this out, too!)

The illustrations were wonderful and I thought they complemented the text perfectly!

I took off one star because I felt a few times the clever language was a tad forced, and because I would have liked a more developed ending. Otherwise, a gem of a little book!

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a GREAT book for little Pagans.

[Greta is Erikasbuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice is a cute bubbly fun witch. She dances in flowers and has a happy kitty and a happy bat and everything around her is just so super happy!


Greta is a misunderstood witch who likes to pull practical jokes and turn prince frogs into evil toads and rain marshmallow fluff down on sticky children to make them stand still.


I honestly don't see why everone is so mad at Greta. I mean... didn't anyone get the memo? All Gretas are fabulous!!


But, the writer of this book has a different view. He created a Greta who is the villain. And while a villainous Greta can be a fabulous Greta, I guess the children this book is read to will root for Alice.


Bahs!!


LOLZ!!


Greta's (the bad witch) Thoughts

This book was super cute! A nice picture book that would be perfect when learning the Golden Rule,

or Read around Halloween,

or even at a girl's slumber party.


I can just imagine a little girl falling in love with this!


While "Greta and Alice" is boy friendly, it does revolve around two girls. So, I think girls would like it more.


The illustrations are very colorful and have a lot going on. I enjoyed looking at everything in each picture. Super cute and kawaii!!


I wish this was out when I was a kid. I would have squeed at it every time it was read to me!!

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun little book. I quite enjoyed the artwork as well as the message about karma. I did wonder about the appearances of the two witches. They were meant to be the same age, but the 'good' witch looked quite young while the 'bad' witch looked old. It seems to me that this just reinforces the demonization of the aged that is so often seen in fairytales. My six year old loved it though.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fantastic story about the Golden rule, wrapped up in a mystical story about two witches. The Brewmerang Principle for witches is the most important lesson of all, which states:
"Whatever you chant,
Whaterver you brew,
Sooner or later
Comes back to you!"

Though not specifically about Halloween, it is a perfect time to read this book with children.

[Megan Breslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book with a great message. Its about two witches one that is very nice and one that is very mean. The mean one in the end learns that if you do bad things they will come back to haunt you. Would be a good book to read to a class and talk about how our actions affect people and come back to get us if we are mean. My first graders love this book. The pictures are great!

[Greta Merkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice and Greta are two witches who graduated from the same school. They learned all the same spells, and they live on top of the same mountain. However, there is one big difference between Alice and Greta. Alice is always in nice colorful clothes, Greta wore poison green. Greta always wanted trouble. She did evil spells and curses, and Alice's spells were enchanting. The two witches were opposites. One day, Greta wanted some trouble. She stirred something up in her cauldron and headed to the nearest school. She used a spell and had all the children covered in marshmallow fluff. All the kids were stuck and began to cry for help. Greta was laughing, and that is when Alice showed up. Greta got to her first, coving her in marshmallow too. Now everyone was stuck. Alice did a spell and lifted the marshmallows off of the kids and Alice and dumped it all on Greta. To this day, Greta is still stuck in the fluff.

I would use this book to teach a fantasy lesson. After reading this story, I would have my students work to create their own fantasy stories. Another reason I like this book is because of the vocabulary it uses. Words like; enchanting, putrid, diabolical, and perplexed. I could use this if we were working on making our stories more colorful with word choice. I could also have students practice making inferences. Every time Alice does a nice spell, Greta does something that is pretty much opposite. I could stop and have my students predict what will happen next multiple times throughout this story.

[Bertha Montaño · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven J. Simmons children’s book is incredibly fun to read. The illustrations are amazing. I love all the bright colors and the fun words that added so much excitement to the book. The book teaches children they have the power to choose between good and bad. The main characters in the story were completely opposite of each other. They would use the same spell for different reasons. Alice would always use her spells to help people out and make the world a better place. Greta would use her spells to be mean and hurt people. The book also teaches children about consequences. Alice was able to live a happy life surrounded by people. Greta was stuck learning about something she should have learned a long time ago. The illustration showed that Greta was alone stuck in snow. I would use this book to teach about making good choices. The book will help children understand that it is important to make good choices. It will help them understand that there are consequences for the actions you choose to make. Overall, the book was great and it had good lessons to teach.

[Miranda | BookishlyBrewed | · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choose your actions and words wisely, because whatever you say and do will always come back on you.

This is such an important lesson for littles and adults alike. I find myself daily, stopping and thinking of the consequences of my choices. Everyone could benefit from this practice.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and whimsical. The story is well developed and very intriguing.

I can’t wait to be able to read this with my boy when he can comprehend the importance of this story!

Thanks for the sweet book Steven J. Simmons and Cyd Moore! ✨💗

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture book
Fantasy
Grades 3-5
I really enjoyed the pictures in the book! They were so colorful and super fun to look at. The storyline also was easy to follow and would be a good book to read aloud to 1st grade and older. The only thing I would note was that this book had a ton of decently big words, so that's why I rated it a higher grade if the students were to read this book on their own.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book and I can definitely see its appeal to children. As far as genre, it is definitely a fantasy book. I would recommend this book for children grades 1 and 2 (MAYBE 3). One unique feature of this text is its colorful illustrations. They really pull the reader in. The story itself is also really great.

[Dabney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember checking this out repeatedly when I was younger, and I’m so happy that I chose to pick it up again as an adult. I adore this book! The illustrations and writing are so fun, and it’s one of my favorite picture books. Love it!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book from when I was a kid :)

[Tamra Oscroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book with a great message!

[Anneke Alnatour · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny story that we all enjoyed. Alice is the nice witch, and Greta is, obviously, the nasty one. Not many surprises there, but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Clare Stakey · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book in our fable unit, what goes around comes around. Character differences, retelling

[Jordan Gissing]

Alice the good witch and Greta the bad witch, are never far apart from trouble. Alice spends her time helping others by weaving her enchanting spells in order to help them Whereas all Greta does is create havoc. But when a forgotten spell comes back to haunt her, Greta is stuck learning something she should have learned a long time ago. This books illustrations makes this fun and exciting story relatable. You see when Alice and Greta were young and how much things haven’t really changed between them. Growing up this has always been my favorite book because in the end Alice shows Greta how great being a nice witch truly is. After reading the story to the class, have your students create a T-chart of the good and bad choices and/or consequences that were made through out the story. Also, have them label whether the choices and consequences were good or bad. When done have the students go over what they had put down.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice and Greta are as different as can be. Alice loves to help others, whereas, Greta loves to torment them. Even when they were in school together their different choices shone in their actions. And while they learned the same spells, they choose to use them quite differently. One day when they face off though, it seems Greta's nastiness will win the day, until Alice reminds her of a lesson from school that she seems to have missed. The sweet tale of the Golden Rule reminds readers of the importance of kindness. It also highlights that the way we see the world often determines the choices we make regarding it. The illustrations are the stronger part of this book, although the spells are quite entertaining. A creative introduction to an important lesson.

[Oanh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about two witches who went to the same school of magic and learned the same spells, chants, and brews but had two differing outlooks on how to use their magic: Alice uses her magic for good and Greta uses hers for bad. This story is a lighthearted lesson on karma as Greta skips out on the day her class learns the most important lesson of all: the "Brewmerang Principle" (Whatever you chant,/ Whatever you brew,/ Sooner or later/ Comes back to you). Students can compare and contrast Alice and Greta as well as write a narrative from one of the witch's point of view.

[Elizabeth Root · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story to use as compare and contrast. We did a "marker talk" (pre-writing) activity as we described the desired qualities in a friend and the undesired qualities in a friend. Students were able to come up with about 20 qualitites for each category. We then were able to go back and identify which character had a specific quality. The students' personal responses to which friend they would like to have were incredible. They were able to make real life connections as well!

[Books, Brews & Booze]

A very cool book - I bought this at a tag sale because... well... it's witchy, so it's right up my alley! :) It's a cute book that delivers the message: "What you give, you get back." So it's right in line with witchy/pagan teachings, so if pagan parents are looking for children's books, I definitely recommend this one.

Of course, the message is one that will resonate with all parents and all kids, pagan or not.

I also love the cleverness of 'The Brewmerang Principle.' Very smart!

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

By request of my 1st grader, we read this title that her teacher had read to the class. Two witches live on the same mountain but see things very differently. One spreads cheer and good magic while the other causes havoc. A lesson about attitude...and doing unto others. I wasn't as revved up about it as my daughter was!

[Jen one n · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a much requested read at our house. Themes: the witches perceive the same view differently due to their different outlooks; they use the same spells differently, and in the end witch Greta has the results of her nastiness bounced back onto her (Brewmerang Principle) while witch Alice is celebrated and rewarded (with cookies and gifts!) for her helpful magic.
Love the illustrations!

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice is a good witch and Greta is nasty, they look out at the same view every day, but see things very differently, Alice uses her magic to make people happy, (finding a lost puppy) Greta uses hers to make people miserable, (stealing the soccer team's balls), soon Greta will learn an important lesson, "Whatever you chant, Whatever you brew, Sooner or later Comes back to you!"

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so great. We love it! First time I read it was in the pediatrician's office, and I knew I had to get a copy of my own. I love how the same spell can be used for good or evil, and The Brewmerang Principle are words to live by, "Whatever you chant, whatever you brew, sooner or later comes back to you!" Perfect.

[Katie Nanney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a powerful message about Karma and how you should be kind to everyone. I liked the illustrations and how distinctive the two witches were. It was lovely and the two witches were drawn beautifully. I think I could use this as a read aloud for younger children to teach about being kind to their classmates and themselves.