Wizzil

by William Steig

Book Overview

An exciting collaboration Wizzil, a witch, is bored stiff. So with some coaxing from Beatrice, her parrot, she turns herself into a common housefly and heads over to Frimp farm to stir up trouble.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374384665
• ISBN13: 9780374384661
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.2" x 0.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A marriage of two greats: Steig and Blake

I am so in love with William Steig's books that I was a little bit startled to see that Quentin Blake had illustrated "Wizzil"--but since I adore Blake also, that was only a momentary setback. "Wizzil" is an unusual witch tale in that the witch ends up not only changing for the better, but having a pretty darned good life for herself once someone takes a moment to show her some kindness.Steig pulls out all the stops here--don't you love the character names? Let's see, there's Wizzil the witch, DeWitt Frimp, Florence and Fred Frimp (try saying THAT three times fast!), and of course, a parrot named Beatrice. It's a happy combination of offbeat, cranky text and the loosey-goosey pen-and-ink illustrations of the inimitable Quentin Blake. Too good to miss!

A book well worth the money

I found "Wizzil" at the local library and thought it would be just another picture book to share with my children. As I started reading it, I was instantly hooked on the writing style of author William Steig. This book is "awesome" and "highly entertaining." I am also a children's writer myself trying to break into the business, so I have read and studied many children's picture books--this one by far stands out as being one of the best written. The imagination of William Steig is very comical as well as highly entertaining. His writing style is one of the best. You can't help but love his characters and sink into the story. I am going to purchase my own copy of this book--this is one story my kids will want to hear over and over. It is a purchase well worth the price. I was amazed to find out he also wrote "Shrek." What a talented writer!

What a Witch...

Wizzil, that horrible, nasty hag is bored and decides to entertain herself by making the Frimp family suffer. She turns herself into a work glove and leaves herself right in the path of Grandpa, DeWitt Frimp. He picks up the glove, puts it on and just can't believe his good fortune. That is until strange things begin to happen. When he tries to swat houseflies, he hits everything but the flies, destroying the house. The rest of the family begins to suffer, too. They develope unbearable itches that only get worse with scratching. At dinner, meatballs begin exploding and water spurts like fountains, right out of their glasses. The next morning, the whole house begins to shake and won't stop. DeWitt, can't take it anymore. He figures it must be the glove, that's when all the trouble started and throws it into the river. Then a strange thing happens. The glove turns back into Wizzil. She sputters and thrashes and sinks. DeWitt can't stand to watch her drown and jumps into the water to save her. As he pulls the repulsive witch to shore, all that mean nastiness washes away and when Wizzil and DeWitt look into each others eyes, it's true love, happily ever after..... Award winning author, William Steig has written another terrific story full of silly characters, laugh-out-loud scenes and hip kid-speak language that will charm and delight youngsters. Quentin Blake's expressive, busy cartoon-like illustrations compliment the story perfectly and together they've authored a picture book kids will want to read again and again. Perfect for children 4-8, Wizzil is a winner.

Wizzil Watch

This book is an engaging departure from all that is tried and tested in witch stories for children. A surprise ending introduces a theme not often seen in this type of literature. The illustrations are well done and very humorous. The pet parrot's sideline commentary is hilarious. I have had this book for under a week and already it is a big leisure reading favorite with my fifth graders who are rapidly acquiring the English language.