William and the Witch's Riddle

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 25, 2016

Review

This fantasy for 4-6 grade readers expands the background of the deadly spindle in the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. William and his younger brother Pinch are left on their own after their mother disappears and their father, who went to search for her, meets with a tragic accident. William is visited by Morga, the evil witch who speaks in riddles, and is forced to complete the three step riddle that his father had been working on to get William's mother back. With the help of a comforting magical-maid named Moggety, a stubborn donkey, a miniature dragon and a addle-tweaked pseudo-guardian of the Fae, William musters unseen bravery as he works through the various riddles and tasks. His lineage is revealed and those he loves are saved. Crum provides a variety of quirky characters and multiple details that young readers will find comical. At times, the minutiae of the Fae magic and backstory bogs down the flow of the adventurous story line. Crum adds a medieval and/or Scottish flavor to the text, here and there, through word choice and sentence structure. Wildish's black and white line drawings appear in full-page and half-page spreads that complement the text and add another quirky element to the characters with their chinless heads and disproportionately-sized lanky arms and legs.

Overall Book Score: good