Good way to open up October, allow students to not judge something by the cover(witches are bad, but this one isn't) ( )

Maggie was a little witch who came from a family of kindly spell-casters. Mama Witch liked to turn garbage into fruit, Papa Warlock liked to restore the hair of balding men, and Brother John would turn pillows into purring cats. But although Maggie herself liked to surreptitiously stuff people's pockets with candy, her kindnesses went unnoticed by her family, who kept wondering when she'd get in on the family tradition of doing good. Finally, determined to get their attention, Maggie decided to do something bad! And the next Halloween, all the trick-or-treaters discovered that their candy had disappeared...

This slim little paperback picture-book, first published in 1979, is probably not one I would have picked up on my own, had I not seen in mentioned in a list of possible witchy selections, for a book-club to which I belong. A sweet little story, in which Maggie's hurt feelings, and her resultant misdeeds are both easily resolved, it has cartoon-like illustrations done by Marylin Hafner. I wouldn't say, all told, that The Candy Witch really stands out, from the witchy picture-book 'crowd,' but for those children who happen upon it, I can imagine it will prove entertaining. ( )