Also by Alison McGhee: All Rivers Flow to the Sea   Also illustrated by Harry Bliss: Diary of a Spider A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss Grades K-2 32 pages Simon and Schuster August 2011 Hardcover     Released in paperback, this New York Times bestseller is all about a little witch who ventures out on October 31st to see what this “trick-or-treating” tradition is all about. Since she is rather afraid of humans, the little witch isn’t sure she wants to really get too close to them, but she decides to be brave so she swoops in on her broomstick for a closer look. This is where the fun really begins. Misunderstanding what she hears the children saying, the witch thinks the phrase is “Trick a tree!” “No one can trick a tree like me!” she says. With that, she heads for the nearest big oak and flies around it, but that ends in disaster. Not only does she make a crash landing, but the little witch is also immediately surrounded by children in their costumes. It is at this point that she meets a little girl and something marvelous happens. Your child will find this picture book to be a very special pre-Halloween treat and will want to read it over and over again. The illustrations are fabulous and the story so enticing that A Very Brave Witch is rapidly on its way to becoming a seasonal classic.     web reviews   Bob Walch/2011 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)