The Knitting Witch - Norma Kassirer

Ivy Lou seems to have it all—except friends. So when a witch appears and knits up some magical playmates, Ivy Lou’s parents hire her. Things quickly worsen as Ivy Lou finds her new friends, parents, and fancy house disappearing, leaving her captive in the witch’s hastily knit Horrid Little Hut.

The witch has her own motives—to groom Ivy Lou to be a witch’s child. Ivy Lou, who turns out to be terrible at making potions, casting spells, and riding on a broomstick, has met her match. Even her threat of Tantrum Number Three, to turn herself inside out, doesn’t faze this witch. Finally, as the witch is out on her nightly broomstick rounds, a terrified Ivy Lou, enchanted knitting needles in hand, has only until midnight to unknit the Horrid Little Hut and restore the life she knew.

Will Ivy Lou manage to get back home, or is she doomed to become a witch’s child forever?

Crafted with Kassirer’s timeless prose, and brought to life with exquisite illustrations by Mark Richardson, The Knitting Witch will entangle readers in the threads of this magical yarn!

Norma Kassirer, a native of Buffalo, NY, is best known for her classic children’s book Magic Elizabeth, a chapter book for middle-grade children that is featured in Eden Ross Lipson’s New York Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children (Revised and Updated Edition). It was first published by The Viking Press in 1966 and subsequently by Scholastic, Random House, and Harper Collins in paperback editions. Generations of children continue to enjoy this timeless story, which has garnered 78 ratings on Amazon.com and 50 five-star rave reviews. Another chapter book, The Doll Snatchers, was also published by The Viking Press a couple of years later.

And now, a previously unpublished beginning chapter book of hers, The Knitting Witch, will be published in Fall 2024 by The Collective Book Studio. Recently discovered by her daughter Sue and remembered vividly from childhood, this magical tale has been taken to new, unimagined heights by master illustrator Mark Richardson.