The Gingerbread Witch (Gingerbread Witch #1)

by Alexandra Overy (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Maud has grown up in a house made of gingerbread, wanting nothing more than to be a witch like Mother Agatha. But just like all of Agatha's gingerbread creations--from the magical house to the chocolate mousse squirrel--Maud will turn back into crumbs if anything ever happens to Agatha.

This seems unthinkable...until Hansel and Gretel, a pair of witch hunters, push Agatha into the cottage's oven.To save herself and the other creations, Maud will have to go into the dangerous forest of the Shadelands to find the First Witch's spellbook. But with witch hunters on her trail and others interested in the book for their own means, can Maud bring back the only mother she's ever known...or will witch hunters capture her before she can save her gingerbread family?

"A magical tale, brimming with heart." --Anne Ursu, National Book Award-long-listed author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy

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Kirkus

A modern reimagining that reads like a well-told fairy-tale classic.

Publishers Weekly

After witch-hunting Wolves reduce her mentor to ash, a 12-year-old aspiring witch fashioned of enchanted gingerbread must find a way to restore things in an innovative "Hansel and Gretel" subversion from Overy (the These Feathered Flames series). To maintain the form given to her by Mother Agatha--as well as that of other confectionary creations, including Nuss, a squirrel made of mousse--Maud must retrieve the spell book of the First Witch, long hidden in ancient glade deep in the deadly Shadelands. Inadvertently joining a caravan of Wolves, including Hansel and Gretel, who claim responsibility for Agatha's destruction, Maud must hide her true nature and her mission. As the journey takes them deeper into the Shadelands, she finds common ground with those who would destroy her, but newfound friendships may not be enough to overcome age-old enmity. Maud's good nature and sense of loyalty makes her a memorable protagonist in this refreshing fairy tale twist that considers the witch's point of view. Most characters read as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Sept.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"An enticing fable that celebrates unlikely friendships, unconventional families, and an uncommon hero trying to prove she's made of more than she appears. The Gingerbread Witch is a magical tale, brimming with heart." —Anne Ursu, National Book Award Longlisted author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781335453716
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Inkyard Press
Publication date
August 01, 2023
Series
Gingerbread Witch
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV022000 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, & Fables | General
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
Magic
Fantasy
Witches
Fantasy fiction
Quests (Expeditions)
Gingerbread
Hansel and Gretel (Tale)

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