The Pomegranate,
Pomegranate,
Pomegranate Witch!
When a scary old tree blooms with the most beautiful pomegranates ever seen, the neighborhood kids' mouths water with anticipation. But the tree isn't theirs—and it has a protector!
So begins the Pomegranate War, a fun, rollicking, rhyming tale of a battle between the sly, plucky rascals and their wry, witchy neighbor who may have more than one trick up her sleeve.
This delectable romp from award-winning children's poet Denise Doyen and acclaimed illustrator Eliza Wheeler honors classic children's literature and revels in nostalgia for free-to-roam days full of playful invention.
"Luscious rhymes and an atmospheric eeriness immerse readers in a neighborhood battle."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
BUY THE BOOK:
Chronicle Books, Hardcover Picture Book, Age Range: 5-8 years, Grade Level: K-3, August 2017, ISBN: 978-1452145891
Editorial Reviews
The Pomegranate Witch *Starred Review
Luscious rhymes and an atmospheric eeriness immerse readers in a neighborhood battle: five children versus the witch who guards the tempting pomegranates that hang from a tree on her property: "Its unpruned limbs were jungle-like, dirt ripplesnaked with roots,/ But glorious were the big, red, round, ripe pomegranate fruits." Wielding tree branches, rakes, and badminton racquets, the children mount an assault in what is quickly dubbed the Pomegranate War, but hoses blasting water, a scattering of walnuts, and the thrashing tree itself foil their efforts. On Halloween, the witch's sister, the Kindly Lady, invites the town's children over for cider and celebration—but could the two women be one and the same? Working in ink and watercolor, Wheeler (Tell Me a Tattoo Story) contrasts the rich red of the pomegranates with washes of pale, sickly green, saturating the pages with a sense of otherworldly magic. And yet: Doyen (Once Upon a Twice) leaves many hints that the Pomegranate Witch is less a malevolent presence than a woman who happily plays that role in the children's imagination-fueled games. Delicious. Ages 5-8.
The Pomegranate Witch
Few things quicken the pulse like local lore and an old, decrepit house. For the children of this story, a neglected farmhouse with a gnarled pomegranate tree generates rumors of a witch who guards the undoubtedly haunted tree. Tempted by the forbidden fruit, every autumn the children plot to snatch a pomegranate from the tree's branches—a tasty testament to their bravery. Epic showdowns ensue that send kids scurrying, backsides stinging from the vigilant witch's broom. But each Halloween a truce is called when the witch flies off and her kindly sister emerges from the house, inviting the youngsters to her porch for a merry celebration. Doyen captures childhood's heightened sense of drama and willingness to believe in the fantastic, and young readers will readily relate to the story's daring neighborhood gang. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations are full of action and awash in eerie greens and shadowy black. Hints dropped throughout imply the witch and kind lady are one and the same, but the story's a treat whether or not readers cotton on to this trick.
—Julia Smith
Book Guide Reviews
The Pomegranate Witch
This neighborhood legend about the annual campaign children wage to pilfer the prized fruit from a pomegranate tree is wonderfully memorable thanks to Doyen's lively language and nimble rhymes. The tree's starkly different sister-owners, the Witch and the Kindly Lady, add a mysterious Halloween aspect. Wheeler's mood-setting ink and watercolor illustrations showcase both festive colors and small, clever details to great effect.
The Pomegranate Witch
Hearkening back to classic children's rhymes and tales of enchantment, The Pomegranate Witch is the charming and darkly expressive tale of a gang of plucky neighbourhood children determined to get their share of delicious, ripe, red pomegranate fruits, and the terrifying "witch" who carefully guards her precious tree against their increasingly elaborate attempts. With impeccable rhyme work and clever, engaging wordplay, author Denise Doyen offers a bewitching, satisfying poem rich with both fright and delight. Complemented perfectly by the illustrations of rising star, Elisa Wheeler, The Pomegranate Witch has the potential to become a modern classic.
Blurbs
The Booklist Reader:
"Like a pomegranate, each page is filled with many small delights... and just a few mild frights."
Jen Robinson's Book Page:
"Thought-provoking, surprising, entertaining, and gorgeously written and illustrated. The Pomegranate Witch is not to be missed."
Imagination Soup, All-Time Favorite Halloween Books, ages 4-r8:
"Just when you think you know what will happen, you are surprised! Delicious words and sensory images weave together in a lyrical, fun Halloween story."
Awards and Best of Lists
Amazon Editors' Best Book of the Month - August
Amazon Editors' Best Books of the Year - 2017
Ages 6-8 (beginning and early readers)
SLJ Blogger, New York Times and Kirkus Reviewer, Betsy Bird
One of the best and most understated (and maybe even under-appreciated) picture books of the year. It is a mistake to dismiss this book as a mere Halloween title. Doyen and Wheeler give us a slightly longer storyline, and an epic one of that. Hand it to parents or educators that lament the fact that picture books these days are shorter than Make Way for Ducklings. In this book the neighborhood kids wage war, regularly, upon the local “witch” in their attempts to eat one of her pomegranates. She, in turn, gives them what for and how to. I haven’t had this much fun repeating a word (the titular “pomegranate”) since One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucaluptus Tree. The rhymes all work, and I think Doyen should get combat pay for the sheer number of pages she had to fill. Extra Bonus: It made my kids really really want to eat a pomegranate.
Best Holiday Picture Books 2017
There are those rare holiday books that transcend the season. That stand as some of the best of a given year. When I run across such books I make a note so that I can declare how grand they are at year’s end. Here are the holiday books of 2017 that made my heart stand up and sing.
The Pomegranate Witch. It’s a Halloween book, honestly, and the more best-of lists I can put it on the better. If I had to pick a favorite book for each holiday, this would be my Halloween one. It already showed up once on my Best Rhyming Picture Books. To remind you, it’s about neighborhood kids who each year fight the local “witch” in an effort to eat one of her pomegranates. She tends to win, but one boy manages to get the red prize. My kids love this, if only because they feel very smart at the end pointing out to their father how the kids at the beginning grow up and go trick-or-treating at the witch’s house with their own kids at the end. And don’t worry. It’s far sweeter than scary.
Best Picture Books of the Year 2017
Here then are the books I’d bury in a time capsule for the future, if I could.
... The Pomegranate Witch.
Kid Lit TV + Rhyme Revolution's: "Best in Rhyme Award", Top 10
Best Halloween Books for Classroom Shelves
This read-aloud is a great one to use for wordplay, and story analysis with a clear, if witchy, problem and solution.
Halloween Books with Diverse Characters
The main protagonist of this marvelous story is a white boy, but he is accompanied by a diverse group of neighborhood kids, all of whom covet the delicious fruit on the local pomegranate tree located in the yard of a suspected witch. The lyrical, rhyming text is a real treat, as are the tricks both the witch and the kids play in order to get the fruit and have a joyful Halloween.
Kidlit Reviews
The Pomegranate Witch (Chronicle Books), Denise Doyen and Eliza Wheeler serve up a deliciously eerie and suspenseful tale of five neighborhood kids who battle a green twiggy-fingered witch for fruit from her haunted, zealously-guarded pomegranate tree.
Thanks to Doyen's brilliantly crafted rhyming verse, young readers will find the lively narrative instantly engaging and compelling. In an interview with April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors, Denise mentions that she chose to tell her story using a traditional ballad form, the same used for well-known classics such as Paul Revere's Ride and Casey at the Bat.
Her exuberant text, infused with inventive wordplay, is such a pleasure to read aloud, peppered as it is with cool and clever compound words ("ripplesnaked," "witchcackle," "shivershook" ). Much attention was paid to the use of sensory detail, alliteration, assonance, chewy/crunchy diction, sparkling end rhymes, and oodles of action verbs to pull the reader right along in breathless suspense. Especially effective was the repetition of the word "pomegranate" in short chant-like refrains to ramp up the mounting excitement: "The Pomegranate, Pomegranate, Pomegranate War."
The ballad form, with its long lines of iambic heptameter, truly makes The Pomegranate Witch feel timeless. This bigger-than-life impression speaks directly to the child's imagination and harkens back to a time when kids roamed free and went full tilt with their fantasy-fueled play.
I also love Eliza Wheeler's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations. Her primary palette of pea soup "sickly" greens and scrumptious red-oranges underscores the contrast between the haunted spookiness of the Witch and the lush richness of those alluring pomegranates. Wheeler has filled her pictures with lots of interesting details to keep young eyes busy with little clues related to the Witch's identity. Especially gorgeous is the Halloween night double page spread with its greenish phases of the moon and wispy salmon colored clouds.
—Jama Rattigan
The Pomegranate Witch, written by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler is AMAZING! First of all, Doyen pulls of a rare feat in the world of kid's books—she has written a rhyming story that (not since the superb Bill Peet) is glorious! There are no contrivances, no made-up words to make the rhymes work, no clunky sentences. She has a true gift for language and her word choices are delightful. Her story is exciting, suspenseful, magical and just plain neat. I read it out loud over and over to my students and we never got tired of it! Wheeler's illustrations are pure magic as well. Her palette is muted, allowing the red of the pomegranates to pop and her characters are marvelous—every child stands out. While there is a witch and Halloween night is part of the story, The Pomegranate Witch is a book you will want to read all year round.
This lyrical Halloween poem is a masterpiece of spellbinding wordplay and masterful meter. In it, the neighbor's pomegranate tree blooms with mouthwatering fruit that the neighborhood kids covet, but they can't have it. Thus begins their Pomegranate War with the witch next door.
STAFF PICK!
The Pomegranate Witch is my favorite modern Halloween story. Excellent rhymes, daring campaigns, and the sweet taste of victory, this book is a lovely surprise from start to finish.
—Ivy
Fun Stuff, related links:
Coloring Sheets
