I'M NOT GETTING IN YOUR BREW!

In this picture book, a kindly witch forges an improbable friendship with a warty ingredient for her Halloween brew.

Little Greenie Curlytoe isn’t like the other witches in the forest. Every fall, when the coven practices magic, the green-skinned witch heads to the pumpkin patches to find gourds to decorate her shack. But she still wishes to lead the others in their midnight flight on Halloween, an award reserved for the maker of the best witch’s brew. As the others seek out herbs and spices, Greenie hunts the one ingredient sure to win her the prize—Harlow, “the ugliest and fattest toad around.” But the brown toad with “juicy warts” is as fast as he is fat and excellent at hiding. As they shout taunting rhymes at each other, an unexpected kinship develops. Wulff’s tale of an unlikely friendship mixes simple prose with lyrical verses between Greenie and Harlow, their catchy, sing-song exchanges made to be read aloud. Stone’s illustrations make the pimply, pointy-eared witches and warty toad an adorable version of gross. Fly tacos are joined by slumbering bats in nightcaps and Greenie’s charming, pumpkin-adorned dress, all in soft yet vibrant fall colors. Though never scary or spooky, these touches ensure this volume will join others on bedsides for the Halloween season. During Harlow’s game of hide-and-seek with Greenie, the book encourages readers to find the pages that show the toad, adding another level of engagement with Stone’s autumnal artwork.

Witches, pumpkins, and amphibian amusement make for a captivating Halloween tale.