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Margewich had had a terrible day.
She had heard stories of Freddy and smelled his “delishomposhus”
pancakes, and her desire to have some of the fluffy, golden brown
marvels had become so overpowering that she had to have some. It should
have been so easy to slip the boy in her sack, carry him back to her
dark forest lair, and then force him to make as many pancakes as she
wanted. But the lad was tricky, and with the help of some sympathetic
do-gooders he had foiled her plans. Thoroughly beaten, she swore never
to return, and so ended the story the author remembered from her
childhood. Yet was that truly all of the tale?
In her delightful retelling of Freddy’s adventure Trevor decides to dig
deeper into the life of Margewich by including a sequel. Here we meet
Margewich as a young orphan who is rescued by the native people of the
woods. She learns their ways and how to use the plants of the forest
for food and medicine. However, she is shunned by the people of the
towns and villages, and when the ones who raised her eventually move on
she is left all alone except for a small kitten which she adopts. Time
passes and one day Margewich succumbs to her pancake temptation, but
after briefly summarizing this incident Trevor brings the narrative to
a much happier ending than in the original.
By taking the time to tell Margewich’s story the author converts her
character into a much more sympathetic figure. Rather than remaining a
simplistic vignette where a wicked witch gets what is coming to her,
the tale is transformed into one of forgiveness and acceptance.
Charmingly illustrated by the author’s granddaughter, Margewich’s
adventures make for enjoyable, well-told reading.
RECOMMENDED by the US REVIEW