Meena

Gr 1—4—Christa, Klaas, and Thomas believe that their neighbor Meena is an old witch who eats little children, makes frog-blood pies, and has put the little girl they see visiting her under a spell. When they try to warn Anna about Meena, she protests, "She's not a witch! She's my grandma." The children write a letter ("GO AWAY OR ELSE!!!!"), which Thomas tosses over the wall and Meena catches. With great compassion, the woman asks, "Are you so afraid, child?" She offers him some homemade cherry pie, and so begins the friendship between Meena and the children. Simple sentences and a lot of dialogue will appeal to emerging readers. Wijffels uses childlike line drawings to show the youngsters' fevered imaginings. A fat witch with a wart on her nose eating frogs contrasts with the puzzled old woman in glasses looking out her door as the children run away. Collage elements, children's art, and blue line drawings on uncluttered white space give the story unexpected depth. James Howe's Pinky and Rex and the Mean Old Witch (S & S/Atheneum, 1991) explores a similar relationship. Use the two together to spark a discussion of old age and prejudice.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN