Heckerty Cook by Ann Rachlin, Jan Ziff, and Allan Davidson, Broomstick Productions 2013
I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o’clock in the morning. –John Barrymore
How wonderful to be a witch, with all their special powers. But how difficult to be Heckerty, a green-faced witch who never seems to get it quite right.
She’s haphazard, a bit of a slob, and absolutely unconcerned–she’s charming. She also has a backstory.
Heckerty was created by Ann Rachlin, and became a popular character in the British storytelling tradition. Ann’s daughter, Jan Ziff, has brought Heckerty into the digital age, with apps on iPads and android, and a blog. Children will love the interactive pages and Heckerty’s uncanny talent for fiasco. Parent will love the vocabulary and the easy digital access.
Heckerty Cook is part of a series, and children can enter her world of characters–mostly cousins who have all kinds of ideas about how to “fix” Hecerkty, who remains delightfully unfixable.
As for Heckerty’s cooking skills–she can’t keep a clean kitchen, relies on pepper to solve all problems, and lets her cat, Zanzibar, help her cook, which is a good thing. He seems to have more sense than she does and like all good sidekicks, always saves the day.
I can’t wait to see how Heckerty handles Back to School!
Appetite for Books 