Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Every now and then Lorelei gets all I'm-over-that with me and the boys.  For me, it's a sad moment when a little independence replaces the reliance on me, a little sass replaces the sweet.  Happily, it's rare, and almost always, it's fake.  She'll pretend to be beyond something (such as dancing like a fool in the kitchen, lip synching with any object that might happen to work as a microphone) but after watching the boys and I do it, she realizes she just can't miss out on the fun and usually joins in.

That's how it is with picture books.  Every so often, Lorelei decides she doesn't want to read a book Ben chooses at bedtime; she'd rather go read chapter books by herself.  I try and find the balance of letting her do her own thing (I really do get her need for a break from her brothers) and strongly encouraging her to come join us (ending the day together, along with a few good books is a habit I don't want to break for a long, long time).

Picture books like this--with simple illustrations of preschoolers on the front--can easily get Lorelei to walk away.  But when I started to read it aloud in the library (don't worry, I used my quiet library voice), she was instantly drawn in, as was Ben.

Ella and Emily looked the same and were often called by each other's name.
Ella likes pink, Emily blue.
Which witch is which?
They played tug of war, three on each side, and Mouse's mother had to decide
if Ella or Emily's team had won.
Which witch is which?

It's a little mystery involving clever word play and identical witch twins!  Cute and fun and thought-provoking in just the right way.  Just tricky enough that Lorelei and Ben asked me to read it again, more slowly this time, so they could figure out which witch was Ella, and which witch was Emily from the start.

This is a good little Halloween book that plays with language in just the right way--for preschoolers and their older counterparts.