Druscilla’s Halloween.

Walker, Sally M. (author).

Set in olden days, when witches went on tiptoe to frighten children on Halloween night, this picture book tells of Druscilla, an elderly witch who wants to do her part, though she is handicapped by knees so creaky-loud that they alert everyone to her approach. Determined to do her job, she looks for alternative locomotion, but her donkey proves stubbornly disobedient, her wheelbarrow is too difficult to steer or stop, and an experiment in flight involving “chickeny wings” ends in disaster. Undeterred, she perseveres and invents a classic: the flying broomstick. Best known for the Sibert Medal-winning Secrets of a Civil War Submarine (2005), Walker shows her lighter side in this witty picture book. White’s expressive paintings, wonderfully varied in size and approach but unified by style, capture both the comedy and the pathos of Druscilla’s predicament. With a strong main character, imaginative details, and many well-chosen words (including one amusing pun), this makes a fine read-aloud choice for Halloween.