Sally Arnold

Beliving that the gray-haired and scary-looking Sally Arnold is a witch, young Jenny is afraid to gather herbs in the woods and secretly spies on Sally's daily tasks before learning to overcome her superstitions and make friends.

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Jenny has come to spend the summer in the mountains with her Grandpa, who runs the only general store around. But business is slow, so she wiles away the many hours alone trying to convince herself that Sally Arnold, the unusual old lady who lives in a shack at the end of the hollow, is a witch. They get to know one another when Jenny, who is trying to spy on the woman, ends up falling in the creek, and Sally plucks her out. This story of intergenerational friendship is sweet, written with many short, almost phrase-like, sentences that quicken the pace of the story and dialogue. Sally is a strong country woman who uses whatever she has handy to create something else. But readers will be hard pressed to determine how old Jenny is. Her thoughts seem very young but she has an older face. The illustrations on canvas give many of the backgrounds an ethereal, misty quality, with the figures outlined carefully in ink. The country scenes depict the trees and grass with soft greens, a gray-blue babbling brook, and a country store lit with golden color. An effective story without a great deal of action or tension.?Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Set in rural West Virginia, this comfortably predictable story from a first-time author reminds youngsters not to judge by appearances. Jenny Fox has come from the city to spend the summer with her grandfather. Bored and lonely, she idly imagines the eccentric, trash-scavenging Sally Arnold to be a witch. While spying on her one day, Jenny trips and falls into a creek. Sally rescues her and brings her back to her cabin. On her cozy porch, they weave baskets from the things Sally has collected and their friendship blossoms. There are no hairpin plot twists to watch out for?this is just a pleasant, slow Sunday drive in which the scenery is the point. Farnsworth's (Grandpa Is a Flyer) oil paintings are hazy, nostalgic affairs full of dappled sunlight and old timers playing checkers and the banjo in the country store, matching the text in its genial use of familiar conventions. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Spending the summer with her grandfather, Jenny meets lots of neighbors in his hill country general store. One old eccentric, Sally Arnold, is particularly mysterious; Jenny suspects she's ``a witchy woman'' and follows her into the woods one day, only to discover that instead of searching for the ingredients for secret potions, Sally is gathering reeds. Resourceful as well as a herbalist, Sally teaches Jenny how to weave a gathering basket, and soon the two of them are roaming the woodlands together seeking out ``mushrooms, ginseng, and wild asparagus.'' The story, though slow moving and predictable, imparts some sense of the region. It's Farnsworth's oil paintings that really shine. Atmospheric and capturing the interplay of light and shadow, these fully convey mountain life and reveal Sally's robust personality early on. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5^-8. When Jenny spends the summer in the country, it seems everywhere she goes she sees a scary-looking old woman wandering around collecting things. At first Jenny is a little afraid of Sally, imagining her to be a witch in search of things to put in her magic spells. But soon Jenny's curiosity gets the better of her, and she sets out to see what Sally does with all the junk she collects. Sally surprises her by inviting her in and teaching her how to make a gathering basket from cattails and an old broom. Farnsworth's beautiful, light-filled paintings steal the show from the quiet story, their only flaw being that they portray Sally as a pleasant-looking, even attractive woman, rather than the scary old witch described in the text. The book will be helpful for promoting the benefits that friendships with an elderly neighbor or relative have to offer. Lauren Peterson