The Okay Witch
Author:
Publisher: Aladdin,
2019
ISBN:
Reading Level:
Genre/Theme/Style: Graphic Novel, Children's Fantasy
I Gave This Book 3 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁
Why 3 Roars? I wanted to love this book. I thought this graphic novel would be a great selection for young fantasy readers.
Unfortunally, it was just way too predictable. There was
nothing new or interesting to be found. I lost interest quickly and thought it
piggybacked off of significantly better stories.
I went back and looked at books like Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, and Dorrie & the Weather-Box by Patricia Coombs, all offering something considerably more original, in my opinion.
Critical Analysis: The story subtly implies that witch hunts were carried out, because witches were not of European decent. The settlers of Founder’s Bluff are represented as white European colonists, but the witches appear to be from many different backgrounds.
This is misleading for young readers and not an accurate portrayal of the history of witch hunts in America. A young reader could be easily mislead into believing that American witch hunts were directed at persons of color. However, it was more correctly considered to be the struggle of the Catholic and Protestant churches, attempting to cleanse their own flock of heresy.
Illustrations: The illustrations are lovely but tell an underlying story that is misleading for young readers with no understanding of American history, which sadly is not "Ok."
Connections:
I went back and looked at books like Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, and Dorrie & the Weather-Box by Patricia Coombs, all offering something considerably more original, in my opinion.
“Moth befriends a sassy talking cat, a magical diary transports her to another dimension and she takes the awkward first steps toward learning to fly. Steinkellner
hits all the checkpoints of
witchcraft-as-coming-of-age-metaphor.”
~~ Jen Wang
This is misleading for young readers and not an accurate portrayal of the history of witch hunts in America. A young reader could be easily mislead into believing that American witch hunts were directed at persons of color. However, it was more correctly considered to be the struggle of the Catholic and Protestant churches, attempting to cleanse their own flock of heresy.
Illustrations: The illustrations are lovely but tell an underlying story that is misleading for young readers with no understanding of American history, which sadly is not "Ok."
Connections:
“The Salem witch trials and executions came about as the result of a combination of church politics, family feuds, and hysterical children, all of which unfolded in a vacuum of political authority (Wallenfeldt, 2021).”
Work Cited:
Wallenfeldt, J. (2021). Salem witch trials. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials.
Wallenfeldt, J. (2021). Salem witch trials. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials.
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