As a new mom, there’s nothing I love more than building my kids’ library. Now that my oldest is 10, and she’s had two little sisters over the years, our collection of children’s books has grown quite large – especially Halloween books. I never considered reading Halloween books until my youngest daughter was about two years old, and then suddenly I just couldn’t get enough. I bought room on broom, Good night fool, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brownjust as I was about to look, my entire childhood flashed before my eyes: Witch’s Supermarket Author: Susan Meadow.
It was the cover that drew me in, and suddenly—even though I don’t remember my parents buying a Halloween-specific book—the memories came flooding back. Reading this story over and over, imagining what it would be like to find a secret supermarket just for witches, wishing I could live in a place like Helen where I could trick or treat alone with my dog ” game. Everything is perfect. I bought it immediately and it quickly became one of my daughter’s favorite Halloween books.
big book, Witch’s Supermarket is a perfect Halloween book.
If you saw the cover and felt warm, fuzzy nostalgia wash over you, then welcome. If you too are looking at the cover and thinking, “Where do I know that dog from?” I’ve got you. Witch’s SupermarketAlthough not labeled as such, this is actually the first book to feature Martha, a dog Martha speaksa very popular children’s book series from the 1990s. (Yes, it later became a PBS show.)
This is just the beginning of this amazing story.
Helen is just a little girl dressed in a witch costume (which, we later find out, was a very popular choice in those days), enjoying Halloween with her dog Martha – whom she dresses up as a cat, much to Martha’s chagrin. (“I’m sorry you don’t like your costume, but witches have cats, not dogs. Everyone knows that,” Helen apologized.) But on their way out to the festivities, they saw a woman Drop a coupon on the floor to get the broom and try to return it after her. As they chase her through the secret doorway, they soon realize they’ve stumbled into a supermarket just for witches. As you can guess, chaos ensues.
But what really sets this story apart from many other Halloween books are the delightful illustrations and all the sweet details. The book is magical and obviously about witches, but the book isn’t trying to be some cute, sassy thing. You can tell that Meadow didn’t just decide to write a Halloween book and pick witches from among the many Halloween characters – this book provides a clear answer to how witches live among us. What happens to witches on Halloween? If witches were our neighbors, where would they buy frog legs and newt eyes? If witches fly everywhere, where do they get brooms?
It’s like Diagon Alley before JK Rowling came along.
In a very consistent theme of Halloween entertainment, Helen is a child left alone. We have some Halloween books that are themed around the holiday itself, with lots of baby and parent interaction, but stories where the main character is the child are so sweet and adorable and that’s about it. She’s the one calling the shots, this is her adventure, and in the end, she has to keep it all to herself.
In a world where children are given so little freedom – and when you try to give them a little extra, you’re just setting yourself up to be judged – it’s so fun to read a book where kids can do their own thing . Of course, this isn’t always realistic, but reading this in the early 90s and reading it now gives me the same sense of excitement and independent energy. Like what if Helen and Martha survived after getting lost in the witch supermarket? cannot I do?
Witch Supermarket And all your favorite little Halloween tropes without being an obvious picture book. There were witches, pumpkins, and children in costumes scattered on the sidewalk. There are black cats and a dog who is angry at the cats, and lots of flying broomsticks. Finally, there was a mother who had no idea what had just happened.
So go ahead and order yourself a copy Witch’s Supermarket. You’re immediately whisked away to your elementary school library, where all you have to worry about is finding a good window seat and hoping that lunch is a rectangular pizza again. These illustrations will take you back in time and you’ll be ready for all the sweet and simple Halloween moments you forgot you had. (Like letting your child wander down a busy city street alone, of course.)
