SuitabookThe blue-nosed witch
Margaret Embry
- Reading
- Read it as a light Halloween adventure, pausing to notice when Blanche chooses fun, how other characters treat her lateness, and whether the story presents the resulting mischief as harmless, troubling or simply comic.
- Themes
- Belonging and responsibility: Blanche is allowed to join older witches but risks being returned to a younger group if she is late again. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Mischief and consequences: Blanche joins children seeking treats, encounters an old man who plays a mean trick, and responds with a genuine Halloween scare. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Changing Halloween customs: The children receive treats such as jelly doughnuts and apples, and use an older-style threat instead of the familiar modern trick-or-treat wording. The adventure presents Halloween practices that reflect the period in which it was written, offering a chance to compare traditions without assuming the book advocates them.
- Worth knowing
- Halloween mischief includes children threatening tricks, an unimpressed old man playing a mean trick, and Blanche and her cat giving him a real scare. The overall tone is described as funny and ghoulish rather than realistic.