Perfect for Halloween season, The Garden Witch by Kyle Beaudette is a nod to fairytales of old.

The Garden Witch lives in an old shack at the top of the hill. She’s lonely and only has three miserable rats for company but she takes very good care of her garden and the garden rewards her with a kind companion, a turnip named Mickey.

Kyle Beaudette channels the Brothers Grimm in this story. It’s honest and a little dark and a little bit cruel. I very much love this about the book. Stories nowadays tend to shy away from the darkness and cruelty and rightly so. We want to make sure we are teaching children to be kind and compassionate human beings but children have a fascination with the macabre. The Garden Witch is a great book to satisfy the need for a little darkness in a safe way. It’s not as extreme as the original versions of fairytales like Hansel and Gretel, but it does have that quality of anything can happen if you are cruel and unhelpful, so watch out. Quite reminiscent of some of Ronald Dahl’s short novels like The Twits.

If I’m being honest, the rhyme is amazing in some parts and then broken in other parts but it does seem to work, just throws you off a little, especially if you are reading the story aloud so best to give it a read through first before sharing it. Also, never a bad idea to read it first to make sure you are comfortable with the content. I would probably share this story with an older audience, eight years and up. A good scare is fun this time of year, just know your audience.

I LOVE the illustrations in the story! Inspired by Quentin Blake and Tim Burton, the pictures have a historic feel to them that makes the book feel old and special. They perfectly match the tone of the story and will inspire readers to create their own magical gardens.