Bewitched.

Amber from Tastes Like Battle Chicken always writes the nicest things, and this month's request is for our Halloween costumes.

Bewitched was one of my favorites, in late color and in reruns, as a kiddo. Samantha Stevens is probably my first experience with what you kids call today "fangirl-ness." As much as I practiced for hours to wiggle my nose and make things happen, alas, all the magic lie in the 1970s avocado kitchen appliances and suburban sorcery.

So, every year, I think of Mataoka as my personal dress-up Samantha Stevens. Hey, it's never too late to have a happy childhood, right? (Even though mine was pretty awesome.)

Here are some shots of Miss Matty, Mrs. Whitworth, in a variety of situations where sorcery was called for:

On a side note, I realize you think picture books are for small children, and although that is true, I firmly believe in great storytelling and masterful illustrations. Chris Van Allsburg is both --- and if you are not familiar with his work, you should be. One of my favorites is The Widow's Broom.  For those of you with children ages five to around eleven, please consider adding his picture books to your collection for them.

Scholomance is...enchanting.

Spell gone wrong...

Very wrong!

I wouldn't mind a broom like Mina Shaw's:

Some of Minna Shaw's neighbors don't trust her clever broom. "It's dangerous," they say. "It's a wicked, wicked thing." Minna disagrees. She appreciates the broom's help around the house. She enjoys its quiet company. It seems perfectly innocent and hard-working to her.