Description
Arriman the Awful, the Wizard of the North, needs a wife, and, naturally, the only woman a wizard can marry is a witch. But which witch will Arriman choose? Warty, wicked, or just plain rude-witches galore enter his spell-casting competition. Poor Belladonna doesn't have a chance. Her spells conjure up pink begonias or ice-cream sundaes, not a single viper or toad. But with the help of a mysterious orphan and a worm named Rover, Belladonna just might do something really sinister.Eva Ibbotson, the author of The Secret of Platform 13, has created a comic fantasy that belongs on the same shelf as the works of Nesbit, Eager, and Dahl. Which Witch? was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, England's most prestigious children's book prize.Children's LiteratureArriman Canker, also known as Arriman the Awful, Wizard of the North, Loather of Light, is a famous and powerful dark wizard. He can conjure up pestilence and blight, frighten the stoutest heart with his freakish collection of animals--he can even make lightning go before thunder. But there's one thing Arriman has trouble with, and that's meeting the right kind of woman for a suitable wife. With the aid of his faithful secretary Mr. Leadbetter, and his intelligent one-eyed ogre, Lester, Arriman determines to hold a contest to find out which witch has powers black enough to warrant being Mrs. Canker. The seven witches of Todcaster gather for the contest, and never before has black magic been so much fun. Between the bickering twins, the witch who resembles her pig, the old hag who keeps accidentally changing herself into a coffee table, and the wicked enchantress, Olympia, Arriman is beginning to long for permanent bachelorhood. Belladonna, the most beautiful witch, is upset with herself--try as she might she can only seem to make white magic. Readers will laugh aloud at the antics of these zany characters, right up to the happy ending. Related in a clever, humorous style, reminiscent of Roald Dahl, kids of all ages will enjoy this book. 1999 (orig.
