Andrea Fiore has written an illustrated a book sure to delight kiddies 4 - 10

Title: Christmas Witch (children’s book) Author/Illustrator: Andrea Fiore Line/Publisher: http://www.athinapublishing.com E-Mail sales.athinapublishing.com Athina Publishing 7635 Catalpa Ave. Woodridge, IL 60517 Release Date: 2000 ISBN: 1931027064 stars * * * * * Tiny witch Drewstillda has a problem. She cannot fly, her magic is as tiny as she and she is so frustrated. With a pinch of this and a substitution of that Drewstillda finds herself not flying off to Halloween with her witch companions but stuck in the middle of Christmas! After meeting the tiny snow angel Marbel Drewstillda learns ‘believing in yourself makes magic happen.’ What a delightful little book. Both the theme of the narrative and the illustrations are wonderful. This is a book I believe which will have high interest as a ‘read to’ for 4 to 7 year olds and as a ‘read alone’ for the 8-10 set. The book is only 9 pages, so it will work well as a ‘free reading time’ activity for kiddies to move to the computer ‘when your work is finished.’ The only problem I had was the format of the file. I personally do not like programs that burst into myriad icons on my screen and I must then home in on ‘the one.’ I think this particular aspect will be frustrating to small kiddies. Another format might work better for the classroom/school media center. I tried corralling the icons in a folder, didn’t work. When put into a folder the text and pictures disappeared. Classroom teachers and home use both should find this book engaging. Reviewed for: Reading Corner www.writingcorner.com/ReadingCorner/ReadingCorner.htm Reviewed by: molly martin (20+ years in the classroom.) Criterion use for review: ___+____ Original Story Idea? ___+____ Does the first sentence, paragraph, page hook your attention immediately? __DNA_____ Is there a plot? a subplot? Do they tie in to make the story complete? ___+____ Are transitions handled so the flow of reading isn't interrupted? ___+____ Do the main characters seem real? ___+____ Does the dialogue between characters seem natural? ___+____ Conflict Present? Was the conflict believable? Was it able to sustain the book? ___+____ Was motivation logical? Believable? Could you see yourself reacting that way in that situation? ___+____ Was the climax believable? Could you envision this really happening? ___+____ Did the conclusion seem a natural outcome?