My grateful thanks to Amy Turnbull at Luath Press for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for the children’s book The Good Witch of Abbotsford by Alasdair Hutton illustrated by Bob Dewar. It’s my pleasure to help close the tour by sharing my review today.
The Good Witch of Abbotsford was published by Luath on 1st November 2024 and is available for purchase here.
The Good Witch of Abbotsford
Meet Morag, a kind-hearted witch on a magical adventure in the enchanted woodlands of Abbotsford!
When the wicked leader of her coven plots to kidnap the local children, Morag must use her magic and bravery to stop the evil scheme. With a race against time and surrounded by darkness, Morag sets out to rescue the children and bring peace back to Abbotsford.
Will she succeed in overcoming the evil powers and saving the day?
Find out in this thrilling tale of courage and magic!
My Review of The Good Witch of Abbotsford
Young witch Morag has an evil plot to stop.
Influenced by the cover design of The Good Witch of Abbotsford I confess that I had been expecting a light hearted and simple story about the triumph of good over evil. However, this story was darker than anticipated and felt very much part of the tradition of fairy stories and morality tales, drawing on well established concepts of witches, and referencing tales and fables like Sleeping Beauty and the Pied Piper. This has the effect of making the book feel well grounded in folk-lore and classical children’s literature.
With plenty of white space between paragraphs and super illustrations by Bob Dewar, The Good Witch of Abbotsford is a book that would be perfect for young readers moving onto chapter books. Those at the younger end of the age range might benefit from an adult reading with or to them, because it might feel a little scary and the vocabulary is challenging on occasion. That’s by no means a criticism. Alasdair Hutton doesn’t patronise his audience, but rather he introduces them to new words in context that broadens vocabulary.
The plot is fast paced and exciting for young readers with considerable consideration of good and evil and plenty of peril and danger that is resolved well. I thought it was inspired to have Morag in contact with her grandmother rather than a parent, because this gives status to children not in traditional family units whilst providing respect for older generations. Morag is a super character and feels all the more realistic because she isn’t averse to some devious behaviour of her own – for the right reasons, enabling children to appreciate that good and evil are not always clear cut but that being kind to others is always preferable.
The Good Witch of Abbotsford is a story KS2 children will particularly enjoy, either as a class or home reader, or through independent reading.
About Alasdair Hutton
Alasdair Hutton has been the Voice of the Tattoo since 1992. He has been writing and telling stories for children since he was at primary school. In addition to being writer and narrator of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, he has written and introduced hundreds of events and concerts in Scotland and around the world. He won a David Thomas Charitable Trust Writing Award for one of his short stories and wrote the history of the 15th Scottish Volunteer Battalion of the Parachute Regiment to which he belonged for 22 years. He worked for the BBC in Scotland and Northern Ireland and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the South of Scotland and Convener of Scottish Borders Council. He lives in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso and writes little stories for his grand-daughter Aline who lives far away in America.
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