Heckedy Peg

by Audrey Wood, Don Wood (Illustrator)

Overview

In this story, seven sweet children are transformed by an evil witch into specific types of food. “The inherent drama of the story, combined with the haunting images the art provides, gives the picture book a timeless quality.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152336790
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/15/1992
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	101,627
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.62(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Audrey Wood is the author of many beloved books for children, including the best-selling classic The Napping House, its companion The Full Moon at the Napping House, Caldecott Honor Book King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, Heckedy Peg, Piggies, and Piggy Pie Po, all of which were illustrated by her husband, Don Wood. The Woods divide their time between California and Hawaii. www.audreywood.com   

Don Wood is the illustrator of many beloved books for children, including the bestselling classic The Napping House, its companion The Full Moon at the Napping House, Caldecott Honor Book King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, Heckedy Peg, Piggies, and Piggy Pie Po, all of which were written by his wife, Audrey Wood. The Woods divide their time between California and Hawaii. www.audreywood.com

Editorial Reviews

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.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

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.

School Library Journal