The Garden Witch

A Garden Witch with a green thumb eeks out a modest existence by tending to magical plants and turning them into potions she peddles in town. Despite her colourful sales pitch (“Come see my garden! I grow magical fruits! /Humongous flowers with big spiky roots!”), her disheveled appearance and ramshackle market stall turn people away. Living alone, her only companions are three rotten rats who treat her terribly. The witch cooks the rodents’ meals, washes their clothes and watches their badly acted thespian pursuits. The rats give her nothing in return but sinister threats: “Witchy ... If you make us unhappy, guess what we’ll do?/ Fill up our bellies with little bits of you!/ We’ll deep-fry your fingers, roast up your toes./Make witch-bum pancakes and bake that big nose!”

Lonely and desolate, the witch cries in her garden. The plants that she lovingly cares for overhear her sorrows and show their support. By mixing the witch’s fallen tears with a turnip and a dead frog, a fun-loving turnip-boy by the name of Mickey Turnips comes to life. Much to the consternation of the suspicious rats, friendly Mickey reinvigorates the witch’s business and helps her in many ways. When the fiendish vermin have a hunkering for turnip stew, tables are turned, and they are the ones who end up in hot water.

Cornwall, Ontario author-illustrator Kyle Beaudette’s debut picture book has a Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale feel, with just deserts meted out. Stylized ink illustrations have a quirky, Tim Burton-esque appearance. The witch has a long, pointy nose, wild hair and expressive wide eyes. Her garden has a Little Shop of Horrors aesthetic full of sentient plants.

The rhyming verse moves the story along at a rollicking speed, with a few awkward stanzas along the way: “Curse that magic garden!” the rats hissed as they ran off and hid. / Mickey said, “Don’t worry about breakfast, I can take care of it.”

When readers dig into The Witch’s Garden, they will find plenty of creepy appeal, as well as a warm-hearted message about cultivating and growing kindness.