Joy Cowley

Living on a hill overlooking a town, a nasty witch decides one day that she wants to be particularly mean, putting on her kick-a-lot shoes, and setting out to kick as many people in the backside as she can. From the mail carrier to the policeman, the farmer to the farmer's cow, the witch leaves everyone she encounters with a sore behind. And then a little mouse turns the tables on the witch, leading the townspeople to confront her together, taking off her shoes, and kicking her right back to where she started...

This is the second witchy beginning reader I have read from prolific New Zealand children's author Joy Cowley, following upon her When Itchy Witchy Sneezes, which was part of the Sunshine Reading Series. The Kick-a-Lot Shoes appears to be part of The Story Box collection, which contains books divided into "emergent," "early fluency" and "fluency" levels. This is described on the back cover as an "Enrichment Reader, Level 2." In any case, I don't know that I had a strong reaction to this book, either way, save that I found it rather amusing that the witch's nastiness is turned back upon her in such a thorough way. I can't help but suspect that a story being published today (this one was first released in 1981) would try to reform her, or would show the townspeople taking the higher road. I was also intrigued by the artwork, the first I have seen from Deirdre Gardiner, also known as Te Maari Gardiner, who is an advocate of Maori-language children's literature. I'm not sure to whom I would recommend this one, save to beginning readers with a strong interest in witchy fare that is less on the sweet side.… (more)

When Itchy Witchy sneezes she causes all kinds of mayhem in this rhyming early reader from the Sunshine Reading Series, originally produced by the Australian educational publisher, Sunshine Books. From the cat to the mouse, the garden to the house, the clouds and the rain, and then all back again—Itchy Witch's sneezes have a powerful effect...

A brief eight pages, this early reader has only thirty-nine words (forty-three if you count the title), and is considered part of Level C, when it comes to the Sunshine Reading Series. Despite its brevity, and its intended use in reading acquisition, it is actually quite well written, with a nice rhythm and rhyme. I finished it wishing there were more to it—a testament to New Zealand author Joy Cowley's skills as a writer. The accompanying artwork by Wendy Hodder, who also illustrated Trouble on the Bus, Margaret Mahy's own witchy contribution to the Sunshine Reading Series, is colorful and quirky. Recommended to reading teachers, for use with their beginning readers who enjoy witchy fare.… (more)