Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
Grade 3-6- E.L. Konigsburg's (Atheneum, 1971) funny novel of two lonely girls receives an update in this narration by Carol J. Stewart. Stewart's soothing voice brings the story to life without belittling typical schoolgirl dilemmas. Elizabeth is new in town and having trouble making friends. When she meets Jennifer, things take a turn for the better. Jennifer claims to be a witch and she recruits Elizabeth as her apprentice. The girls communicate through notes and secret messages, which always appeal to this age group. As part of her apprenticeship, Elizabeth has to eat raw eggs, onions, spaghetti noodles and give up sweets for the holidays. There are also taboos for the girls to follow or face the consequences. During their weekly meetings and rituals they plan to invent a flying ointment. The two develop a special friendship as they spend time in the library researching the formula for this magical ointment. As in all friendships there must be some give and take, and Jennifer and Elizabeth soon discover theirs is no different. The satisfying ending will please anyone who has ever had a special friend. This recording will appeal to fans of Konigsburg and may win some new followers along the way.Ginny Harrell, William McGarrah Elementary School, Morrow, GACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theAudio Cassetteedition.