Mabel Harmer (1894–1992)

Hardworking Lizzie, a witch who collects lost toys in the nearby village every evening, finds herself saddled with a lost kangaroo in this picture-book from 1970. As Lizzie tries to figure out what she should do with Josephine - so-named because little kangaroos are called Joeys - she must also contend with Chubby Sims, a young boy who is always losing his toys, and then visiting her house outside of the village. Can she find a way to improve Chubby's memory? Can she find a home for Josephine, before that marsupial's antics drive her wild? Could the solution to these two problems be related...?

Long out of print and very difficult to obtain - my copy came through interlibrary loan, from a city close to 1000 miles from my home - Lizzie, the Lost Toys Witch is a title I would most likely never have run across, were I not interested in witchy picture-books, and had I not therefore decided to request it. I've never read anything else from Mabel Harmer, a Utah author who had fourteen published books at the time this story was released, although I have encountered the work of illustrator Wendy Watson before, in such titles as Father Fox's Christmas Rhymes and Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop's Fables. All in all, I found this one entertaining, appreciating it as a very atypical witch story, one where the witch's occupation and activities are most unique. The artwork - black and white line drawings enhanced by red and pink washes - was charming, and I found myself enjoying both the larger scenes - the village with its stone houses and narrow streets, Lizzie's house - and the depiction of the individual characters. This is fairly text-heavy for a picture-book, so I would recommend it to slightly more advanced audiences (perhaps ages 5-7) who enjoy witchy fare, or vintage illustrative styles.… (mais)