The Word Witch

The Word Witch

The Magical Verse of Margaret Mahy

By Margaret Mahy, Edited by Tessa Duder and Illustrated by David Elliot

ISBN13: 9781869507077

RRP $44.99

Recommended Readership: All Ages

Synopsis

Do you know about the Word Witch?

Has she cast her spell over you?

She can lasso with a limerick, haunt with a haiku and wrap you tight in a rhyme, quick as lightning.

Her cauldron is a dictionary, her wand a mighty pen, and she stirs her words at midnight, making tempting treats for children, to please and tease and tantalise them with imaginary treasures and delectable dreams.

She weaves words into adventures, sets verses wildly dancing, makes similes sing and stamp their feet and poems purr like pussycats who've eaten all the cream.

Her name is Margaret Mahy.

These are her spells.

Finally, Margaret Mahy's much-loved poems and stories in rhyme have been collected together by her biographer, Tessa Duder, for the first time ever in the wonderful new book, The Word Witch: The Magical Verse of Margaret Mahy.

With each of the 66 pieces accompanied by poignant illustrations by one of New Zealand's best, David Elliot, and packed as a beautiful hardcover edition, The Word Witch is set to delight generations of readers who have grown up with mahy and enchant newcomers to her work for many years to come.

Included in The Word Witch are such classics as 'Bubble Trouble', 'Down the Back of the Chair' and 'Dashing Dog', as well as other gems from Mahy's School Journal days and her own childhood, and some previously unpublished works.

"The lyric poems shimmer...with imaginative power and vibrant imagery," says Duder in her introduction, "[while] the comic verse sparkles with its verbal pyrotechnics, all mischief, energy and wit, sometimes acerbic but never unkind, and always technically accomplished."

The Word Witch contains all the poems Tessa Duder knows of from school readers, collections, picture books, anthologies, magazines and the private papers she was privileged to access while researching her biography: Margaret Mahy: A Writer's Life in 2004.  It is by no means the definitive collection, she says.  "Margaret's bountiful outpouring of fiction and poetry over some fifty years makes it impossible to be certain that within these covers lies all the poetry she ever wrote."

With Elliot's classically whimsical style of illustration paying homage to Mahy's magnificent words, the book will appeal to the child in us all.  There are no age limits on genius, as there are no age limits on this book.

About the Authors

Margaret Mahy is one of the world's best-loved authors, writing wonderfully funny and imaginative children's poems, stories and picture books as well as ground-breaking novels for young adults, thrilling readers for more than forty years.

A member of the Order of New Zealand, on Honorary Doctor of Letters and twice winner of Britain's Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature, she has also been honooured by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand as a Living Icon, received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction, and been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Margaret lives in Governors Bay and has two daughters and seven grandchildren.

Tessa Duder has published more than thirty-five books - award-winning novels, picture books, non-fiction, plays and anthologies for children; a collection of short stories, anthologies and non-fiction for adults.  Her life-long admiration for and friendship with Margaret Mahy was reflected in her portrait Margaret Mahy: A Writer's Life, published in 2005.

David Elliot is an award-winning children's illustrator and author.  he has written and illustrated five picture books of his own, including the Sydnet Penguin books and Pigtails the Pirate (winner of the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Picture Book Award).  he has also illustrated for many other New Zealand children's authors, including Jack Lasenby, Janet Frame, Joy Cowley and Pauline Cartwright.  The Word Witch is his first book for Margaret Mahy.

Child's Review

I love this book!  It is full of poems about all sorts of things: animals, people, seasons, feelings and adventures.  Some of the poems are quite long and go over several pages.  Others are short and easier to read.  They are all set out in really interesting ways and fun to read.

I like rhyming poems and especially like how some of the poems in this book can be sung to tunes that I know.

I also really like how all the picutres match the poems.  Some are bright, some are funny, some are dark and a little scary.  Ooh and I like it when the poems about night-time and darkness are on black pages with just a little bit lightly coloured pictures - it makes me think that it's late and I feel like I'm in darkness too.

Parent's Review

The Word Witch is an exquisite collection of Margaret Mahy's magical rhyming prose that will hold you captivated and spell-bound from cover to cover.

Margaret's lyrical verses simply dance off the pages and whisk you off on a magnificent adventure examining all facets of life from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary.

The vast array of emotions are skillfully captured by David Elliot's illustrations which beautifully depict Margaret's quirky characters and memorable tales.

The Word Witch is guaranteed to become a well-treasured addition to your family's book collection and one to be passed through future generations.  A highly recommended gift for all ages.

{source}[[script src="http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php" type="text/javascript"]][[/script]] [[fb:comments xid="B090076"]][[/fb:comments]] [[script type="text/javascript"]] FB.init("77e6399157db8779c45eaf6ac4541368", "xd_receiver.htm"); [[/script]]{/source}

Customer Reviews: