Witch of the Cumberlands

by Mary Jo Stephens

With the prophesied arrival of three children on Devil's Mountain a gentle elderly woman, whom the villagers call a witch, unravels the old mystery of a local mine disaster. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395185092
• ISBN13: 9780395185094
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 9

Customer Reviews

Overlooked Classic

This is a wonderful book for adolescents, especially those growing up in Appalachia. I haven't read it in years, but I know that it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout!

Favorite book. Ever!

I first read this book in 4th or 5th grade, and it was so unbelievably good that I eventually *took* it from my local library because I feared someone else would lose it! (Yes, I did pay for it as a lost book and was happy to do so.) Author creates immediate tension w/setting and characters; the writing itself is very straight-forward, but also beautiful. You can see and smell the descriptions, and get goosebumps from the mysteries as they unravel. In all my years of avid readership, I've never read anything I liked better than this story. In fact, it's one of the reasons that I make my living as a writer today--I wanted to be able to make others feel the way I felt when I read this book. It's considered "Young Adult Literature", I believe, and if you know any kids or young adults that love to read (or maybe need to be encouraged to read), this is the book I'd recommend. In addition to great writing, it's a fascinating look at rapidly-disappearing Appalachian culture (I remember people/places/events like this from my childhood, but they're slipping away). Wish there were more than five stars to give!