Baisikeli - Valerie Kimani

Advantages: fun book for young children
Disadvantages: none

...My daughters love all the Winnie the Witch books that are written by Valerie Thomas and illustrated by the brilliant Korky Paul. In all of the stories you meet the wonderful flamboyant witch, Winnie, and her long suffering cat, Wilbur. Winnie loves to dress in bright zany combinations which are definitely clothes to match her colourful character! Although, she is generally a pretty good witch, there are occasions when spells do sometimes go wrong and it is often Wilbur who suffers as a consequence! The latest book we have read is a really lovely story called 'Happy Birthday Winnie!' The story starts with Winnie looking at the calendar and realising that her birthday is coming up soon on Friday 13th - when else? She decides to have a big party so the week is filled up with sending out invitations, making new clothes, preparing lots... Read review

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Advantages: fun story and pictures
Disadvantages: none!

...My three year old daughter is a big fan of the Winnie the Witch series of books by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas - and this book 'Winnie at the Seaside' is a particular favourite. All of the books feature Winnie, a rather funny and sometimes incompetent witch, and her long suffering cat Wilbur. In this story, as it is an extremely hot summer, they take off for the seaside... Winnie and Wilbur fly off on her broomstick to reach the seaside. When they arrive though, they discover the beach is really packed, and the only space they can find to spread out their towel is very close to the water's edge. Winie has a lot of fun frolicking in the sea but as Wilbur does not like water he remains on the shore. Unfortunately, the tide comes further up the beach and washes all Winne's things out to sea including her broomstick! In order to... Read review

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Advantages: Story and illustrations are great fun
Disadvantages: Hard to find any

...I have long been a fan of Valerie Thomas's delightful tales of Winnie the Witch and her beloved cat Wilbur, as well as Korky Paul's hilarious illustrations. On a recent visit to the library, I was surprised to find Winnie's Midnight Dragon, which had up until then escaped my attention. The story begins with Winnie going to bed as the clock strikes midnight; Wilbur is of course curled up in his basket at the foot of the bed. His slumbers are, however, soon disturbed by a strange noise in the garden and he goes to the cat flap to investigate. Poor Wilbur is terrified to see a baby dragon's nose poking through and puffing out smoke. As the dragon makes his way in, Wilbur turns backward somersaults and runs away. Unfortunately, the baby dragon sees this as a game and chases Wilbur, causing the grandfather clock to wobble and a suit... Read review

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