Paintings rich in atmosphere highlight this delectable tale of a witch's unusual dietary cravings and a mother's ingenious revenge. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

K-Gr 3 This original story reads like a pure folktale. The poor mother of seven children, each named for a day of the week, goes off to market promising to return with individual gifts that each child has requested and admonishing them to lock the door to strangers and not to touch the fire. The gullible children are tricked into disobeying their mother by the witch, Heckedy Peg, who turns them all into various kinds of food. The mother can rescue her children only by guessing which child is the fish, the roast rib, the bread, etc., a trick she neatly performs by matching each kind of food with the gift that each child had requested (Monday asked for butter, so Monday is the bread, etc.). This story, deep and rich with folk wisdom, is stunningly illustrated with Don Wood's luminous paintings. He shows the countryside as a true fairy tale settingthe half-timbered village, thatched roof cottages, haymakers in the field, and the witch's hut in dark, dank woods. With variety of color and line he enhances every nuance of the text, from the individuality of the children and the stalwart mother to the unrelenting evil of the witch. A tour de force in every way. Connie C. Rockman, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.