Makabrycznie małe, okropnie odważne i potwornie perfekcyjne. O postaciach czarownic w dziecięcych książkach obrazkowych
Monstrously Minute, Cripplingly Courageous, and Frightfully Flawless: On the Characters of Witches in Children’s Picturebooks

Summary/Abstract: The figure of the witch is a vivid element in the 21st-century collective imagination, as evidenced by a plethora of popular culture texts recycling fairytale heroines. The interference with the mythological imagery of the witch is often so strong that one can speak of a blurring of her cultural meaning. Picturebooks for young readers frequently feature witches, but with a modern twist. These contemporary interpretations often modify key aspects of the witch stereotype, including age, appearance, and moral attributes. Magic is used in these stories in a tongue-in-cheek manner, serving as a carnivalesque tool and a form of costume to make stories about children’s problems and desires more attractive. These depictions are clearly influenced by feminist and antipedagogical perspectives, particularly evident in children’s literature. They combine respect for Otherness and individuality with a positive portrayal of the female community in the spirit of sisterhood. This analysis aims to examine these depictions based on several 21st-century English-language works: City Witch, Country Switch by Wendy Wax and Scott Gibal-Broxholm (2008), Only A Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee and Taeeun Yoo (2009), A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee and Harry Bliss (2009), It’s Raining Bats & Frogs by Rebecca Colby and Steven D’Amico (2015), The Itty-Bitty Witch by Trisha Speed Shaskan and Xindi Yan (2019), The Littlest Witch (A Littlest Book) by Brandi Dougherty and Jamie Pogue (2019), and Leila, the Perfect Witch by Flavia Zorilla Drago (2022).

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