Dorrie the witch is a beloved character in children's literature. Created by Patricia Coombs, Dorrie first appeared in the book "Dorrie's Magic" in 1962 and has since starred in numerous stories. Dorrie is a young witch with wild black hair and green skin. She wears a tattered black witch's hat and a raggedy dress. Despite her unconventional appearance, Dorrie possesses a heart of gold and a mischievous spirit. Throughout the series, Dorrie embarks on magical adventures.

Classic Children’s stories- Dorrie & The Blue Witch

We enjoy the magical and mystical and both the girls adore a book with witches, fairies, magical creatures and myths.

However, one thing I noticed especially when collating a Halloween collection is that a lot of widely available witch books fall into one or more of the standard tropes- green, warty, evil or wish harm on others.

So finding positive representations of witchy characters especially in Picture books and Early chapter is pretty important to us. (We also love Lieve Baeton’s Little Witch and please comment if you have any more recommendations)

This is why I was overjoyed when we were recommended the Dorrie series by one of the girl’s favourite authors Harriet Muncaster as we adore her half vampire half fairy Isadora Moon stories and Under the Christmas Tree amongst other books was wrapped Dorrie and the Blue Witch and Littlefae (5) is enthralled.

Dorrie and the Blue Witch – Patricia Coombs (Egmont 2015 )

Big Witch has to leave in a hurry because the bad witch Mildred has returned leaving Dorrie to play tea parties whilst waiting for Cook to return with sugar.

But a mean Blue Witch knocks on the door and demands Dorrie should go with her. Perturbed by this witch with her sparks and harsh voice Dorrie thinks on the spot to deal with this unwanted guest.

‘Oh my,’ said Dorrie, as the dorks swirled faster and faster. ‘I hope this works.’ Dorrie and the Blue Witch

I can’t actually believe how good this book is and Egmont have done a great job by making these a good size for small hands, a slim hardback that will happily sit side by side with popular illustrated early chapter books- it’s just a crying shame so few people know about them!

Admittedly I did not even know about these growing up and I desperately wish for the child I was that I had found these magical and unabashedly kooky books that embraces the alternative.

The illustrations are so whimsical and spooky with gorgeous swirly and scratchy details and clever playful alternating of colour block, white space and detailed backgrounds.

The writing is thoughtfully created with use of close repetition of possibly new, longer or harder words such as frowned or banister to give children the opportunity to build their confidence. Littlefae read this aloud independently in one sitting and other than a few words she was unsure of and a little encouragement when she started to tire.

It was accessible enough for her to start adding expression to the dialogue too which is fantastic.

It is excellent for building stamina towards MG chapter books with alternating filled pages and then a big illustrated page with a sentence or two- it didn’t feel daunting for her which was brilliant.

We will definitely be buying more of these Dorrie Books!!

We were lucky enough to find the Egmont reprints in a local independent bookstore but you may need to get your local bookshop to order them in or purchase online.

Dorrie the witch

Dorrie and the Blue Witch (Dorrie the Little Witch #2)
by Patricia Coombs
Date: 1964
Publisher: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: Open Library

When Dorrie is left home alone by the Big Witch, she decides to have a tea party with Gink. There is a knock on the door. Expecting Cook to arrive any minute, Dorrie opens the door. Instead of Cook, she finds the bad Blue Witch. Dorrie scours Cook’s magic cabinet, uses its contents to capture the Blue Witch and receives a gold cauldron for her efforts.

I was a big fan of Dorrie the Little Witch when I was a kid. Now, decades later, I didn't even remember why I loved the books so much. So when a Goodreads friend reminded me about this series, I went in search of some of the books.

I'm not sure if Dorrie and the Blue Witch was one I read as a child or not (I have a feeling I'm going to be drawing a blank on most of them), but I can see why I enjoyed them. The story here is cute and empowering. Dorrie has to figure out how to deal with a potentially nasty witch who wants to steal her away. So she thinks and comes up with a rather clever solution to the problem. (Her mother eventually completes the solution, but that wouldn't have been possible without Dorrie's help in the first place.) This book is over fifty years old, but it doesn't really feel like it. In this case, anyway, the story doesn't really have any elements that make it seem dated.

As a voracious young reader, I probably loved the fact that there's a lot of text. Technically, I guess these are picture books, but there are some pages that are most or all text. So they're definitely not for the earliest readers (unless someone reads the books to them), but kids who are getting more proficient at reading and who'd like something a little more challenging than a picture book could potentially gobble these up.

The pictures are charming. They're black and white with a touch of colour (blue, in this case. of course; I suspect other titles may have their own specific colours to punch up the monochromatic colour scheme).

Overall, I'm glad I took this trip down memory lane. Dorrie is just as fun as I remember.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5

DORRIE AND THE BLUE WITCH by Patricia Coombs

When doing a week about witches, we would be remiss not to include the Dorrie books by Patricia Coombs. There were 20 books in the Dorrie series, written in the early 1960’s through the early 1990’s. We’ve been reading these books for 40 many, many years and they hold up just as well today. I know this, because I just re-read one of them today and really enjoyed it.

As you can see, this is not a brand new book. My sister found it for me on ebay because almost all of the Dorrie books are out of print. This one used to be in a school library and why it’s still not there, I don’t know. But their loss is my gain:D

This is Dorrie. There’s just something about her that appeals to me. It might be the witches shoes (which I love!), the mismatched socks,

her messy room. My room has never been that messy! Honest. I think Gink the cat might have a lot to do with the appeal. Who doesn’t have a black (and white) cat sitting around helping you?

Also, Dorrie and her mother live in an amazing house with lots of rooms

Paneled hallway? Check! Rooms upon rooms? Check!

Awesome stairs leading up to the tower? Oh, yeah!

In this book, there’s a bad witch (you know she’s bad because she’s blue) who tries to kidnap Dorrie. Her name is Mildred (don’t all bad witches have names like Mildred) and her evil plans are thwarted by Dorrie’s resourcefulness.

I’ll let you read the book to see how Dorrie outsmarts Mildred, and she’s not the only youngster using her brains against older adversaries. Some other great witch books include The Wednesday Witch by Ruth Chew, The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin (oh, I love this book!), not to mention The Witches by Roald Dahl and The Witch Next Door series by Norman Bridwell (of Clifford the Big Red Dog fame.)

Reviews for "The Enchanting Artwork of Dorrie the Witch: How the Illustrations Bring the Stories to Life"

- Sarah - 1 star

I found "Dorrie the witch" to be quite disappointing. The story lacked a solid plot and was filled with nonsensical events that left me confused. The characters were not developed well and their actions seemed random and unrelatable. Overall, I didn't enjoy reading this book and would not recommend it to others.

- John - 2 stars

"Dorrie the witch" fell short of my expectations. The writing style was too simplistic and did not engage me as a reader. The story felt repetitive and predictable, with no real surprises or twists. Furthermore, the illustrations in the book were unimpressive and did not add any value to the overall experience. I was truly hoping for a better read.

- Emily - 2 stars

I was not impressed with "Dorrie the witch". The character of Dorrie lacked depth and her actions were often irrational. The plot moved at a slow pace and there were sections that seemed unnecessary and dragged on. I was hoping for a more captivating and enjoyable read, but unfortunately, this book did not deliver.

Exploring the Ethereal World of Dorrie the Witch: A Dive into Magical Realism

Dorrie the Witch: Lessons in Acceptance and Inclusion for Kids

Dorrie the Witch: Why Her Stories Are Perfect for Bedtime