Earwig and the Witch

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In the same year she married John Burrow, a scholar of medieval literature, with whom she had three sons, Richard, Michael and Colin.

It also has a bittersweet tang, since this is the last Diana Wynne Jones fantasy novel we'll get (unless they find some hidden manuscripts somewhere). Earwig simply goes from the orphanage to Bella Yaga's home, and continues to be rude and manipulative. We were told that she was famous in her youth for her copper hair, her wit, and her beauty, but we saw no sign of any of this. Hairs stick out, eyes bug out, mouths twist expressively on stick full-front people; top margin is crows on thorny line; spiders sprinkle around spookily.On October 13, 2021, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the film, except Japan and United States. They feel like pale imitations from a director who knows what Ghibli films do, but not why… And even the highly striking animation aesthetic for which Ghibli is renowned feels largely absent, due to the muted, flat palette of the film's CGI… Ultimately, Earwig and the Witch is a far cry from Studio Ghibli at its finest. The Mandrake is a superb character, a man whose eyes accommodate glowing red fires and who is served by a collection of demons who he sends out for takeaway.

Morwald's, where she manages to make everyone do her bidding, but when she is taken in by a foster parents who are actually a witch and a demon, she has a hard time trying to turn the situation to her advantage. Instead, we have a detailed buildup and then she does something I hate: leaps forward to "one year later" when everything is fine-fine and Earwig already has what she wants. There's a nice helping of magic and some brisk upbeat sentiment in this crisply written story… How the feisty Earwig outwits the pair with her own special skills and the help of Bella Yaga's cat Thomas is deliciously entertaining. Will she finally be rid of this witch and win, or will she be defeated by the witch and live the rest of her life as a slave?The story is divided into chapters, but at less than 150 pages isn't so long that younger readers would find it too difficult.

Earwig is a confident and controlling orphan who attempts to avoid adoption because she has created a situation of control at her current orphanage.With the help of the talking cat, Earwig puts a spell on herself so the witch can never do anything to her, including give her worms. Still the nickname Earwig creeps back in and she grows up with it and with the special talent of making anyone and everyone do just what she wants. It's sad that Diana Wynne Jones died earlier this year, cutting short what might have been quite a different story had she had more time.