1 1

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem Spiral-Bound | September 13, 2011

Rosalyn Schanzer

★★★☆☆+ from 1,001 to 10,000 ratings

$22.87 - Free Shipping
Tackling the same twisted subject as Stacy Schiff's much-lauded book The Witches: Salem, 1692, this Sibert Honor book for young readers features unique scratchboard illustrations, chilling primary source material, and powerful narrative to tell the true tale.

In the little colonial town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two girls began to twitch, mumble, and contort their bodies into strange shapes. The doctor tried every remedy, but nothing cured the young Puritans. He grimly announced the dire diagnosis: the girls were bewitched! And then the accusations began.
 
The riveting, true story of the victims, accused witches, crooked officials, and mass hysteria that turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a witch hunt that took over a dozen people’s lives and ruined hundreds more unfolds in chilling, novelistic detail—complete with stylized black-white-and-red scratchboard illustrations of young girls having wild fits in the courtroom, witches flying overhead, and the Devil and his servants terrorizing the Puritans— in this young adult book by award-winning author and illustrator Rosalyn Schanzer.
  
Taught in middle and high schools around the U.S., the 17th-century saga remains hauntingly resonant as people struggle even today with the urgent need to find someone to blame for their misfortunes.  
Witches! has been honored with many prestigious awards, including:. Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Book

2012 Notable Children's Books—ALSC

NCSS—Notable Social Studies Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2012

School Library Journal Best Books of 2011

SLJ’s 100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2011

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2011
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1426308698
Item Weight: 0.5 lbs
Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 7.3 inches
Customer Reviews: 3 out of 5 stars 1,001 to 10,000 ratings
Praise for George versus George: “A carefully researched, evenhanded narrative with well-crafted, vibrant, watercolor illustrations…. This is a lovely book, showing historical inquiry at its best: consideration of both sides, a sound research basis, attribution of sources, and interesting writing.” - School Library Journal, starred review.

Awards: ALA Notable Book-2005, Orbis Pictus Recommended Book-2005, 2004 Best Books winner-School Library Journal, Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2004

Praise for How We Crossed the West: “A must-have for anyone with an interest in American history.” - Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

Awards: National Council of Social Studies/Children’s Book Council Joint Committee NOTABLE CHILDREN’S TRADE BOOK IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL STUDIES, A San Francisco Chronicle BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Praise for John Smith Escapes Again!: “Students of history will most appreciate the new light shed on this plucky voyager, but adventure fans will also be swept up in his escapades.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review
Rosalyn Schanzer is the award-winning author and illustrator of 16 books for young people, including How We Crossed the West which garnered starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal, and George versus George: The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides, an ALA Notable Book, SLJ Book of the Year, NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, and Orbis Pictus Recommended book. She was recently awarded the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for her work on Witches. Roz lives in Virginia with her husband, Steve, in a house surrounded by birds.