This is a fun bedtime story to read. It's funny and the art is fantastic.This book is perfect for anyone that loves classic fairy tales.

This is a clever story that belongs on the shelf reserved for timeless classic children's stories. As a parent, I feel the pain the parents feel as their child throws her tantrums and grows increasingly spoiled, and the hope of redemption for all of us.

I have very mixed feelings about this story. On one hand I loved the illustrations, they were beautiful and helped add so much life to the story, on the other hand the story really wasn't that great. I can see how Kassirer was trying to go for the lesson learned structure but most of the story focus so much on the horrible attitude of Ivy that when it came around time for the story to switch gears and Ivy start to learn why her attitude and actions were not okay it ended up lacking in execution. Her lessons are very short livid and doesn't hit the impact that it could have, it felt more like Ivy went through a few inconveniences as opposed to actually learning why her attitude was an issue, and so when it wrapped up with her realizing she has been terrible it didn't feel sufficient enough.

Its an easy read and moves quickly but overall I think the story needed a better balance in execution to really hit the impact of teaching a lesson.

I was immediately drawn to 'The Knitting Witch' because of the beautifully illustrated cover - so reminiscent of childhood Halloweens! Maybe it was the art style, but the story itself reminded me a bit of Maurice Sendak's 'Pierre' (also super nostalgic!)

Despite that initial draw, the story fell a little flat for me and I'm still not sure why. Maybe it was more anticlimactic than I expected? I will say I wondered briefly if the Witch was going to teach Ivy Lou the lesson of gratitude on purpose and redeem herself, so I appreciate that she simply remained 'evil' for the whole story.

All in all though, this was a quick, cute read!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.)

The Knitting Witch is a delight. As an adult, I read it both with a nostalgic eye, and with my niece and nephews in mind; and when I finished, I wrote down the publication date so I can pick up a physical copy. Main character Ivy Lou breaks rules in zany ways that grab the reader's attention, but as badly as she acts out, she undergoes an equal discipline and lesson via the witch. Norma Kassirer writes approachably for middle grade readers, and utilizes dry humor, irony, and matter-of-fact descriptions of impossible things, reminding me of favorite books I read at that age. For its age group, The Knitting Witch is witty, very entertaining, and a great fable.

The artwork by Mark Richardson is pretty remarkable. It reminded me of the artist Dirk Zimmer, and at times of Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Tomie dePaola's for Strega Nona. The mixture of realism and surrealism/exaggeration, as well as the often muted color palette, made for unsettling imagery. I won't go too far into it, but I would have eaten his creepy illustrations up as a middle grade reader! He took me back to when I first read all those beloved eerily-beautifully illustrated books, and I'm excited to get this book and others illustrated by him for my niece and nephews.

Overall, I was very happy with The Knitting Witch, and would reach for this any time to read to my niblings. It was genuinely fun to experience, and I won't get tired of looking at the many detailed illustrations. My thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital Direct Reader Copy I read!

This story feels like a Brother’s Grimm classic. The cover of the book drew me in. I love the illustration style. It looks old fashioned. The story is about a girl, Ivy Lou, who is spoiled rotten, ungrateful, and doesn’t have any friends. Her parents are willing to give her anything which ends up in a deal with a witch. Ivy Lou learns that there are dire consequences to her selfish ways and the things that she says (when she throws tantrums). It’s a fun, dark fairytale with a happy ending. My children enjoyed it, but it took a while to get through because it is rather long and wordy.
Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fun title.

💬 Hmm, my thoughts on this one...bearing in mind it was a late elementary/early middle grade book, it wasn't bad. I think I wanted a little more depth from it. I think I was waiting for a more obvious opportunity for the very bratty girl to learn her lesson and I didn't feel like we got that. It was very reminiscent of like Hansel and Gretel kind of, with a little bit of Coraline. The illustrations, though, were spot on and reminded me of Roald Dahl's books like Matilda and The BFG.

This was a quick read, great for teaching theme, as well as other literary terms. However, it was a bit dry. A bit more action, dialogue, suspense, would’ve made it a bit more gripping. I was hoping to use this as a read-a-loud to my students, but think I’ll pass. I don’t foresee this exciting them to pick up books.

I recently read The Knitting Witch, a short illustrated children’s book. In this story, we follow Ivy Lou, a bratty, spoiled child. This story reminded me a lot of classic children’s fairytales, teaching morals and ultimately, ending happily. The artwork throughout this book is beautiful! 🧙🏻‍♀️🧶🖤

This book publishes on September 17, 2024, just in time for spooky season, and would be a great addition to young readers holiday plans!

Thank you, @netgalley, for providing this book for an honest review!

The Knitting Witch: a classic tale of teaching the bratty child to appreciate the small things in life. I really enjoyed this book— especially the illustrations. I mean you can’t go wrong with a classic witch! It’s out September 17, just in time for Autumn.

This story was very reminiscent of older fairytales and witch stories. Ivy Lou is a very spoiled child and would throw tantrums whenever she didn't get her way. This attracts a witch who promises to help the family, but instead knits and transforms their house into a witch's hut and tries to make Ivy Lou turn into a witch child.
I appreciated that the witch didn't give in to Ivy Lou's tantrums - she thought they were amusing. I didn't quite understand the witch's motivations. And I don't know if I like the message that inherently beautiful things equal good and ugly things equal evil. It seems like a pretty antiquated idea.
I enjoy the vintage feel of the illustrations and felt that they really helped tell the story.
Fans of traditional fairytales and fables will likely enjoy this book.

A whimsical, old fashioned fairy tale with modern illustrations and beautiful illustrations. I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book and it was a delight to turn each page and find a new illustration 4.25/5

“‘At least,’ whispered her mother, ‘she didn’t ask for an ocean. She isn’t nearly as unreasonable as they say.’”

Ivy Lou lives in a fancy house. She gets everything she asks for, from a horse to an airplane to a pirate ship with real life pirates. Whenever she doesn’t get her way, Ivy Lou throws massive tantrums. Because of her temper, Ivy Lou doesn’t have many friends.

One day, a witch appears at Ivy Lou’s house offering to knit her some magical playmates – but the witch actually makes Ivy Lou’s fancy house, her mother and her father, and all of her toys disappear. Now, Ivy Lou is stuck being the child of a witch, living in a little hut and wishing she could be with her family again. Is there any way she can make that happen?

My favorite thing about this book was hands down the beautiful illustrations. They were charmingly done in black, white and sepia tones with occasional splashes of color. The vivid art style really brought this story to life and made for an enjoyable reading experience.

However, I did have a slight problem with the writing style. While it was descriptive, sometimes it was overly so. I also felt like the sentences would occasionally run on longer than necessary. I could imagine a child getting a little lost while trying to pay attention to the story.

The story itself was charming and was reminiscent of classic parables and fables. It was cute, fast paced, and overall an enjoyable read. I could see children really loving this one.

This felt like such a comfortable, old-fashioned story, but with modern language. Ivy Lou is so wonderfully told as a naughty girl who throws 3 levels of tantrums, and the witch is powerful -- but luckily, not so observant. Such a satisfying ending. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

This story reads rather like a classic fairy tale, warning children off of bad behavior. It reminds me of this book I used to read about a witch growing up. It was a very entertaining read.

When I requested this, I hadn’t quite realized this was a short children’s book, but I decided to read it anyway. The story itself was cute enough with the bratty Ivy Lou learning to be thankful through a series of rather nasty events. The illustrations felt perfect for the vintage feel of the text and story—though I do have on gripe and that is that neither Ivy Lou nor the witch was knitting correctly! This wasn’t a particularly unique children’s story, but it was sweet and had a fairly satisfying ending.

Ivy Lou is spoiled rotten, and throws different fits to get her way from her parents. One day a witch comes to the house, and offers to knit some children for Ivy Lou to play with. For some reason Ivy Lou can not make friends.


But when the witch knits, she knits away the house, and Ivy’s parents, and everything she loves. Soon she is tricked into believing she is the child of the witch, and she has to help make spells. But being unmagical, she fails each time. She doesn’t learn to knit either. She is very miserable. And it doens’t work to throw tantrums with the witch. She loves to watch them.
Cute parable like tale of what happens when you always get your way. Not as heavy handed as it sounds, and it is actually a pleasant little read.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 17th of September 2024.

Definitely reminds me of Coraline but also a little of hansel and Gretel. Definitely worth a read especially if you or you know/have a middle grader that would like to read this, especially during spooky season

the illustrations set the perfect tone for this charming story, reminiscent of a classic fairy tale


thank you to netgalley and the collective book studio for this arc!

I loved this. I have read other pieces from Norma Kassirer throughout my childhood so being able to read this one was so nostalgic and also heartwarming. She has a wonderful was of telling stories and pair those with the beautiful artwork you are left with a reading experience that is like no other. You can tell the design and layout of the book was crafted with care and thought. The writing, like always, is great for all ages and another great addition to her collection of books.