Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem (History (US))

Description

In the little colonial town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, young girls began to twitch, speak wild and garbled words, and contort their bodies into strange shapes. Bewitched! cried the Puritans. This young adult book by award-winning author and illustrator Rosalyn Schanzer takes on the cast of characters of the infamous Salem witch trials of the 1600s. It deals with what Puritans believed about witches and the supernatural, the victims (but were they really victims?) of the witches' spells and tortures, those who were hanged as wizards and witches, the court trials, and much more. Combining a riveting story with artwork done on black and white scratchboard with tinges of bright red for a haunting look, this book provides an exciting history for kids.

Patricia Lauber is the highly acclaimed author of, among others, Volcano, a Newbery Honor Book, and Flood, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Her fascination with horses began in childhood, when she loved to read about them. She learned to ride, and at the age of twelve spent a memorable summer on a ranch in New Mexico. Patricia Lauber lives with her husband in New Canaan, Connecticut. Rosalyn Schanzer has written and illustrated several outstanding children's books, including her How We Crossed the West, which received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, and, most recently, Gold Fever! As a child, she always enjoyed reading stories about horses. By the time the artist was twelve years old, she'd read all of the Black Stallion books, by Walter Farley; then she studied the muscle structures of horses so that she could draw them herself. Rosalyn Schanzer lives with her husband, Steve, their children, Adam and Kim, and their family dog, Jones, in Fairfax Station, Virginia. Patricia Lauber and Rosalyn Schanzer recently collaborated on The True-or-False Book of Cats, which School Library Journal called "A delightful look at the behavior of these popular pets ... A book that will frequently stray from the shelf."

"My son loves these books. We started reading National Geographic Kids books when he was about six (he's nine now) and I can honestly say that these books have been instrumental in teaching him to read." - Consumer "My kids love these books. Super fun and interesting." - Consumer