The Pomegranate Witch

Starred review from July 31, 2017
Luscious rhymes and an atmospheric eeriness immerse readers in a neighborhood battle: five children versus the witch who guards the tempting pomegranates that hang from a tree on her property: “Its unpruned limbs were jungle-like, dirt ripplesnaked with roots,/ But glorious were the big, red, round, ripe pomegranate fruits.” Wielding tree branches, rakes, and badminton racquets, the children mount an assault in what is quickly dubbed the Pomegranate War, but hoses blasting water, a scattering of walnuts, and the thrashing tree itself foil their efforts. On Halloween, the witch’s sister, the Kindly Lady, invites the town’s children over for cider and celebration—but could the two women be one and the same? Working in ink and watercolor, Wheeler (Tell Me a Tattoo Story) contrasts the rich red of the pomegranates with washes of pale, sickly green, saturating the pages with a sense of otherworldly magic. And yet: Doyen (Once Upon a Twice) leaves many hints that the Pomegranate Witch is less a malevolent presence than a woman who happily plays that role in the children’s imagination-fueled games. Delicious. Ages 5–8. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary.

September 15, 2017
Grades K-3 Few things quicken the pulse like local lore and an old, decrepit house. For the children of this story, a neglected farmhouse with a gnarled pomegranate tree generates rumors of a witch who guards the undoubtedly haunted tree. Tempted by the forbidden fruit, every autumn the children plot to snatch a pomegranate from the tree's branchesa tasty testament to their bravery. Epic showdowns ensue that send kids scurrying, backsides stinging from the vigilant witch's broom. But each Halloween a truce is called when the witch flies off and her kindly sister emerges from the house, inviting the youngsters to her porch for a merry celebration. Doyen captures childhood's heightened sense of drama and willingness to believe in the fantastic, and young readers will readily relate to the story's daring neighborhood gang. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations are full of action and awash in eerie greens and shadowy black. Hints dropped throughout imply the witch and kind lady are one and the same, but the story's a treat whether or not readers cotton on to this trick.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
This neighborhood legend about the annual campaign children wage to pilfer the prized fruit from a pomegranate tree is wonderfully memorable thanks to Doyen's lively language and nimble rhymes. The tree's starkly different sister-owners, the Witch and the Kindly Lady, add a mysterious Halloween aspect. Wheeler's mood-setting ink and watercolor illustrations showcase both festive colors and small, clever details to great effect.

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