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>When Felina, a little witch, breaks her broom on Halloween and can’t fly home, she is stuck with the Doon family and their black cat, Itchabody, for an entire year. Although she’s homesick and unhappy, the Doon parents and their daughter, Lucinda, do their best to make Felina feel welcome. (And she has no trouble with Itchabody at all!) As time passes, the mischievous Felina learns what it means to be part of a family—and how, with love, she will always belong. This timeless tale, originally published in 1971 and cherished ever since, brims with witchy whimsy and will find a home in the hearts of a new generation of readers.
Lexile Measure: 670L (What's this?)
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (August 27, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442486724
ISBN-13: 978-1442486720
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.3 x 7.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #94,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #60 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Family Life > Adoption #471 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Celebrations > Halloween #1544 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
I read this book when I was a small girl and never forgot this charming story although I did forget the title. After searching for years through every children's witch book I found it by chance just sitting on a shelf in the library I work at. I was so happy to relive this wonderful childhood memory of Felina (Lucinda) and the Doon family.
Sometimes when you revisit a childhood favorite you discover that much of what made it wonderful is "between the lines" and not there at all, just images you invested in it. But The Little Leftover Witch is really just as wonderful, funny, vivid and haunting as I thought at the time.This was my FAVORITE book when I was seven, and took it just as a literal fairytale about what would happen if a little witch girl got left on a tree outside a human family's window on Halloween. At the time I much preferred mischievous Felina to sweet Lucinda. It's surprisng to read it again at this distance and see just how perfectly Laughlin captured the behavior of small girls without either fudging on their maturity or condescending to them!I also found myself entirely in love with the world of the Doons. In fact, I reread the book as soon as I finished. This family is nice-- and yet, still believable. Mrs. Doon loses her temper (well, only after severe provocation when Felina brings the cat to the supermarket!)... and there are family traditions and little bits of individuality everywhere.What I missed, reading this as a child, was the metaphor for adoption-- and the metaphor of how love can truly change a person. In the world of the Doon's, Felina's witchiness is a fact-- not a delusion-- and everyone in the town buys into it. But in the hands of the adult reader, Felina's witchiness is every lonely child's feeling of not belonging. No wonder all kinds of children love this book! It has everything-- terrific writing (brief enough for early-ish readers), memorable characters, humor, adventure-- and a terrific depiction of the power of love.
When I was 7 years old, I found the Little Leftover Witch at my local public library. I took it out so many times that the librarians began to hide it from me so that others could take it out. As I got older, I always looked for it on the shelf to make sure it was still there and to check the signature card with my name on it over and over again. When I became a mother, I went back to the library to see if it was still there. I was flooded with memories when I found it. I asked if I could purchase the book (there wasn't an .com yet)but was told that it could not be sold. I was sad but knew I would be able to find it when my daughter became old enough to read. A few years later I received a call from that library asking me if I was still interested in owning the book. They were planning to discard it because it was very worn (all the more better since I was the one who caused the wear). My daughter loves the Little Leftover Witch and we read it together every fall even though she is now 13. This is a wonderful book about love and family and the beauty of the book lies in its simplicity.
My mother-in-law, a former teacher, passed along her copy to us two years ago. We are just about to begin reading it for the third time as part of our autumn traditions. A great example of what unconditional love can do! Age appropriate from about four on, although I had a young three-year-old who liked to listen to it as well. Our paperback copy has pictures on almost every turn of the page.
This was a cleverly detailed and well written story about `being different' and coming to adapt to life with a new family. While the behaviors and actions of Felina are completely appropriate to a child that is desperately in need of a family to love her, the parents in this story do just that.Teaching proper behavior, manners and even how to think before you act, this story will speak to children in all situations; we all know someone who acts out badly without really knowing why. I think that it would be helpful in growing families, step-families and even families that are considering foster care or adoption: the lessons are simple and the parenting hints are simple to understand and emulate.I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review and inclusion in the Children Read week at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
The Little Leftover Witch is a great story, especially at bedtime. When we were younger, my little sister and I would read it together at bedtime. She absolutely loved it and so did I. We must have read it at least 10 times. I plan on holding on to it and reading it to my kids someday.
I'm so glad this is back in print so that new generations of kids can enjoy it. But I wish they had kept the interior illustrations. They were charming and made it into a great read-aloud for a first grader.
Like almost everyone else here, I remembered Florence Laughlin's charming 1960 book, "The Little Leftover Witch," from my childhood.The plot: on Halloween night, 7 yr old Lucinda Doon is awakened to find a little witch around her age crying on a tree branch outside her bedroom window. The witch, Felina, has broken her broom and can't fly home until next Halloween. So, Lucinda invites Felina into her home and asks her parents if Felina can stay for the year. Thus starts a year of mild adventures for the Doons and their little town as they adjust to having a little witch in their midst. The Doons, though, through love and acceptance start to change Felina from a suspicious, cross, and sometimes naughty little witch into a happy and well-adjusted child. Yet, what happens when Halloween rolls around and the other witches come looking for their lost little one....This is just a fun and charming story. As another reviewer has mentioned, it really is an allegory for adoption. For its intended audience (K-3rd graders), Felina is a real witch with the ability to do mild mayhem through her use of "little magic." Yet, to adults it's clearly a story about a neglected/abandoned child finding a family and a home. Either way, it's a touching tale.One complaint: the republished edition does NOT contain the original illustrations. In fact, it has no illustrations except for its cover one. That's a real shame. I still remember the original illustrations which really drew the reader (or listener) into the story. So, why did the publisher ditch the illustrations? To save costs? Or the belief that it'd be tough to market to modern children a book that contained illustrations of little girls from 1960- the type who wore dresses to school everyday? (Also, the type who got threatened with spankings for misbehaving which is still in the book.)
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