Synopses & Reviews
Elizabeth is the loneliest only child in the whole US of A until she discovers Jennifer. Of course, Jennifer isn't a friend, really. Witches don't make friends, and Jennifer is a witch. Elizabeth becomes her apprentice, however, and in the process of learning how to become a witch herself, she also learns how to eat raw eggs, how to cast short spells, and how to get along with Jennifer, among other things.
The relationship lasts from fall into spring. The girls meet each Saturday at the library and go from there to the park where they hold special ceremonies and read books on Witchcraft. The climax of their joint effort is to be a flying ointment, but it is here that trouble crops up.
Though this story is set in suburban New York City, it could happen anywhere, for Elizabeth's problem, and Jennifer's problem, the need for a friend, can happen to anyone.
Review
"An entertaining tale that has staying power."
-- School Library Journal, starred review
Review
"An entertaining tale that has staying power."
-- School Library Journal, starred review
Synopsis
Elizabeth is an only child, new in town, and the shortest kid in her class. Shes also pretty lonely, until she meets Jennifer. Jennifer is...well, different. Shes read
Macbeth. She never wears jeans or shorts. She never says “please” or “thank you.” And she says she is a witch.
Its not always easy being friends with a witch, but its never boring. At first an apprentice and then a journeyman witch, Elizabeth learns to eat raw eggs and how to cast small spells. And she and Jennifer collaborate on cooking up an ointment that will enable them to fly. Thats when a marvelous toad, Hilary Ezra, enters their lives. And thats when trouble starts to brew.
About the Author
E.L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and be runner-up in the same year. In 1968,
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named a Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for
The View From Saturday. She has also written and illustrated three picture books:
Samuel Todds Book of Great Colors,
Samuel Todds Book of Great Inventions, and
Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdales. In 2000 she wrote
Silent to the Bone, which was named a
New York Times Notable Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, among many other honors.
After completing her degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Konigsburg did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. For several years she taught science at a private girls school. When the third of her three children started kindergarten, she began to write. She now lives on the beach in North Florida.