by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 17, 2009

"Heckedy Peg" is a witch, and there's trouble in store for seven kids. There's gorgeous illustrations of a medieval cottage, and it makes the story seem disturbingly real. Seven children are left alone in a cottage by their mother. But soon a passing witch pays them a visit, and they're about to learn how dangerous a stranger can be!

It's a crowded house where the seven children sleep, with messy hair on rumpled sheets. But there's a warm orange glow as they all help their mother with her chores. She decides to reward them each with a treat from the market, but then warns them with a smile that while she's gone, "be careful, and remember - don't let a stranger in and don't touch the fire." Left alone, the children play wildly with soapy water and have sword fights with sticks. But before long, "a witch hobbled up the road pulling a heavy cart." Will they remember their mother's warning?

Short answer: No. The witch offers them a sack of gold if they'll let her in and light her pipe. (One spectacular illustration finds the children each wielding a stick that's been lit from the fire - and tracing golden lines in the air.) Their helpfulness has only led them into a trap, since the lit pipe let's her change them all into food. "Now I've got you," the witch shouted - and throws the pipe on the floor as the horrified children transform.

It was written by Audrey Wood and illustrated by her husband Don, and the team has earned many awards for their stunning collaborations. They based this book on a 16th-century game, according to the author's web site, so it's a classic story that's been handed down more than 500 years. According to Google Answers, there's a rhyme that goes with it. ("I'm going downtown to smoke my pipe and I won't be back until Saturday night, I hope that old witch doesn't kidnap my kids tonight.") The game involves guessing the children's new names - which are all words from the same category, like "famous actors."

Guessing wrong means the children are kidnapped by a witch - but fortunately in this book, the children's mother is working to rescue them. It's scary to see these children - now disguised as foodstuffs - being dragged through the city, and off across a farmer's field. (And the illustrations match the tone of the story - like when the colors disappear at the witch's grey hut.) But like any good children's story, the good mother triumphs in the end, and it's the witch who gets chased through town - eventually drowning in a river.

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