One Witch at a Time

November 15, 2014
Magic beans, a boy brave enough to confer with witches and a girl strong enough to defy a tyrant are the ingredients for another original tale with familiar folklore roots. Thirteen-year-old Rudi, who first encountered the Brixen Witch a year earlier when she helped him retrieve stolen village children, once again heeds her advice. After red-haired Agatha brings beans she's stolen from Petz's tyrannical resident witch, a giant, to Rudi's home province, the old woman on the mountain tells Rudi to return them. Magic has rules: Witches and their magic must stay home. Rudi and 9-year old Susanna, who recognizes the beans' magic, travel through a beanstalk to neighboring Petz, where they meet Agatha again and learn how sad conditions are there. The greedy giant-witch of that frozen province has taken every good thing, including summer. The three enter the giant's lair to return his beans but make things worse by coming home with a hen, whose eggs are, of course, golden. Perhaps Agatha goes along too easily with Rudi's plan to return all the Petz magic, and perhaps Rudi is a bit too dutiful, but the characters are awfully likable, and this tale is set so believably in a traditional Alpine world that it's easy to go along with the make-believe. A satisfying, stand-alone sequel that will certainly send readers back to read The Brixen Witch (2012). (Fantasy. 8-12)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-When young Susanna Louisa foolishly sells Rudi's cow for some magic beans, anyone can see it's a bad trade. So he quickly tries to make amends by tracking the buyer down before she lays claim to the cow, only to find she has vanished. After consulting his beloved Oma, Rudi is instructed to seek out the Brixen Witch, their village's formidable and silent guardian. Glad for the social call, just not at the expense of his own error, Rudi visits the strange old woman in her isolated mountain home, taking Susanna Louisa along for company. Magic must not cross borders in this enchanted world, so the pair is sent to return the beans to the kingdom of Petz before the sorcerer Giant notices them gone. Getting there is simple enough after a magic bean provides a shortcut, but returning home proves challenging due to the nasty warlord's enchantment preventing anyone or thing from leaving his realm. This companion to The Brixen Witch (S. & S., 2013) retells the Jack story with an interesting twist. This is a tale of an oppressed people wherein a brave trio of youngsters overcomes an unfair tyrant, who turns out to be just a man after all. Readers unfamiliar with the first book can quickly immerse themselves in this adventure, as it reads very well on its own. DeKeyser creates an interesting world where steadfast rules must be obeyed so as not to upset the precarious balance between the magical and the ordinary. A clever blend of folkloric elements with fast-paced action.-Rebecca Gueorguiev, New York Public Library

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