It's got chapters. It's got a dog. It's got a lady next door wearing a witch hat and she's painting candy and ice cream cones all over her house just like hmmm...Hansel and Gretel. Fiercely the dog is deep into his current yard work which translates as digging a hole...a very deep hole. So he misses the action when Jim and Jilli hear some noises coming from the neighbor's yard on the other side of the fence. When they peek through the fence, they see something odd.
There's a lady, a cackling lady, painting her house red and she's adding pictures of delicious looking candy here and there as she goes. Does she want to eat them for supper? Oh the mystery. Oh the suspense. It's wonderful to find a book written for those young readers who are looking for a book that really honors how they feel and what they can handle even though they may be in kindergarten, first or second grade. Truly refreshing in its honesty, originality and spine-tingling suspense.
40 pages 978-0545244633 Ages 5-8
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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An endearing new chapter book series by two-time Newbery Honor author of the bestselling Polk Street series.
Jilli and Jim are best of friends. But today, Jim has some news. Something scary is happening next door. Workmen are building something that is big and red. And a woman in a pointy hat is on a ladder painting. Could she be the witch from Hansel and Gretel making a big red gingerbread house?
When Jilli's dog Fiercely crawls under the fence and runs into the witch's yard--the children must go over there and rescue him! But a surprise is in store for everyone. The woman is not a witch at all. She's Ms. Berry--the nicest teacher from the school. And soon she will be their teacher!
With her characteristic warmth, humor, and irresistible child-friendly drama, Patricia Reilly Giff is at her very best!---from the publisher
