SuitabookOne witch at a time
Stacy DeKeyser
- Reading
- Try reading the opening together, then pause to talk about what each character knows and what they hope will happen. Continue independently or together according to your child’s interest.
- Themes
- Putting a mistaken trade right: After Susanna Louisa trades the family cow for magic beans, Rudi sets out to return the beans to their rightful owner. The plot makes setting the trade right part of the quest, but the characters’ choices are not enough to establish a broader moral stance.
- Magic and danger: A magically sprouted beanstalk offers a shortcut to Petz, but takes the travellers into danger. Magic is part of the adventure’s events; the overview does not establish whether the book presents it as good, bad or morally complicated.
- Worth knowing
- The overview includes danger, an evil witch and a giant who must be defeated. If your child is sensitive to peril or threatening fantasy antagonists, these are useful details to discuss before reading.