Children's Books · Hardback

Our Neighbour Is a Witch

Norwegian title: Naboen er en heks

Our neighbour is over one hundred years old and resembles a dried grape. She is called Miss Pollestad and works as a witch. She does magic on her way along the street. Makes cars stop. Makes leaves fly from branches.

I am the only person who knows that our neighbour is a witch, and that is why I have to spy on her using my binoculars while wearing my invisibility cloak. The witch is always looking for things to put in her soup. It has been cooking for over one hundred years now. It smells like boiled tiger in our stairwell. Whoever drinks that soup will surely die. Something terrible will happen, I just know it. It must never, never happen.

Naboen er en heks has a classic feel to it, sensing and seeing through a child's eyes and perceiving something that adults cannot.

‘… Ersland’s inventiveness calls forth smile after smile. The superb interaction between Ersland and Ask envelops the reader and leads to a highly dramatic and liberating conclusion. I won’t say any more.’AFTENPOSTEN ‘This is a lovely little book that author Bjørn Arild Ersland has written for children between the ages of four and eight. It was designed to arouse wonder in young readers. What is the witch up to? Will she catch her young neighbour spying? Is the old lady dangerous? The story has a wonderful and naïve streak to it. It looks through a child’s eyes and knows something the adults don’t. This makes it even more exciting. … Ersland and Ask deserve praise for the book’s clever conclusion.’DEMOKRATEN

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