Grimelda: The Very Messy Witch

Grimelda, a young witch with a frizzy mass of red hair, keeps a messy house, which means that it's no easy task to locate the spell book and the pickle root she needs for a recipe. Murray (City Shapes) packs playful comedy into her rhyming verse ("She used her broom to fly, not sweep./ Her floors had dirt six inches deep"), and Ross (How to Behave at a Dog Show) creates a chaotically cozy swamp dwelling for Grimelda, filled with lurking animals, piles of books, vines, and globs of slime. Grimelda eventually caves in and cleans up, but this isn't a story meant to encourage kids to keep their own rooms tidy: Grimelda looks profoundly uneasy in her newly spic-and-span house, and she immediately uses a spell to mess it up again. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (July)

PreS-Gr 2--Grimelda the witch would love to try a new recipe but can't seem to locate the most important ingredient, pickle root. Realizing that cleaning her extremely cluttered house is the only way she'll find it, she sweeps, scrubs, and organizes "all night and half a day" till the house is tidy and she finds the pickle root, among other important things. But what self-respecting witch lives in a clean house? Children will love the Seussian rhymes that don't miss a beat and will enjoy following a tricky little spider determined to keep the missing ingredient from Grimelda. VERDICT The length is perfect for storytimes, and the illustrations are engrossing. A fun, nonscary selection for year-round sharing.--Melisa Bailey, Harford County Library System, MD