Fairy Tale Witches Good and Bad

"Hansel and Gretel and the Witch "
Rough drawing (study for figurine) by Scott Gustafson

A quickie post to point you to an excellent list of witches from fairy tales and other classic literature by Kate Coombs, also known online as "The Book Aunt".

Strega Nona
Written & Illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Her list includes Baba Yaga and Strega Nona, as well as some books for both I also recommend. She even includes the awesome story/book called The Talking Eggs that I found only a few years ago. Please note the actual books she recommends for the fairy tales. I can vouch for the illustrations being as lovely as she says.

Here's the fairy tales she includes:

Hansel and Gretel (with the Gingerbread House architect)
Snow White (with her stepmother - or mother, if you prefer)
Jorinda and Joringel (with The Witch of the Wood that gturns into an Owl...)
The Tinderbox or The Blue Light (with an unnamed witch that gets killed)
Rapunzel (with Mother Gothel)
Vasilissa the Brave (with Baba Yaga)
The Fearsome Inn (Jewish folktale)
Strega Nona - she's a good one!
The Talking Eggs (Grimm's Mother Hulda)

Also mentioned is Heckedy Peg (which is an original fairy tale by Audrey & Don Woods)

Bony Legs
Written by Joanna Cole
Illustrated by Dirk Zimmer

You can find Kate's blog and timely list of fairy tale witches HERE.

Zelinsky's Rapunzel & Other Award Winning Fairy Tale Picture Books on DVD

In May this year, Scholastic released a lovely collection of beautifully illustrated fairy tales on DVD with a stellar cast of narrators to complement.

All of the books contained in the volume are illustrated by award winners.

Here are the descriptions from Amazon.com:

RAPUNZEL (Retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, narrated by TK) A unique retelling of the story of Rapunzel, the girl with the long, golden hair.THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER (Retold and illustrated by Jim LaMarche, narrated by Patrick Stewart) A pair of elves secretly create an amazing pair of shoes for a poor but kindly shoemaker.THE TALKING EGGS (Written by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, narrated by Danny Glover) When a young girl befriends a mysterious elderly woman, magical things happen.THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF (Retold by P. C. Asbjornsen and J. E. Moe, illustrated by Marcia Brown, narrated by TK) Follow the adventures of three billy goats named Gruff as they bravely hunt for fresh green grass to eat.LON PO PO: A RED RIDING HOOD STORY FROM CHINA (Written and illustrated by Ed Young, narrated by B. D. Wong) This Asian version of the classic fairytale brings lessons about strangers, trust and courage.PRINCESS FURBALL (Retold by Charlott Huck, illustrated by Anita Lobel, narrated by TK) A king falls in love with a princess after she hides her identity under a coat made of a thousand furs.This looks like a lovely collection. If anyone has seen the DVD please do let us know how the presentation comes across.

You can click HERE to see more details.