Little Witch gets mad at her cousin Bossy and turns her into garbage. ( )

Little Witch returns in this fourth beginning-reader from Deborah Hautzig, once again finding that her sweet and helpful ways are a source of irritation for her impatient mother. When Cousin Bossy comes for a visit, all of Little Witch's considerate preparations are brushed aside by her know-it-all guest, who insists on rehanging the welcome sign and rearranging the flowers, and who objects to being told what kind of dreams to have. Fed up at last, Little Witch has a dream in which she is VERY bad, only to be informed by her mother that bad behavior in a dream just isn't going to cut it...

Although Little Witch's Bad Dream continues to play with the theme of a little girl who is always running into trouble because she is too good, somehow the story isn't as strong as some of its predecessors. There's no clever twist at the end, as their was with Little Witch Goes to School, and no new friends to be made, as in Little Witch's Big Night. That said, the conclusion, in which Mother Witch continues to love her little girl despite her serious shortcomings, is quite appealing, and the artwork by Sylvie Wickstrom is cute and witchy. Recommended to fans of the Little Witch character, and to beginning readers looking for magical tales. ( )

This is a story where everyone's name describes their attitude. Little Witch is nice, Cousin Bossy is bossy! Aunt Nasty is nasty. Mother witch wants little witch to be mean all the time but she cant but Mother witch still loves her. ( )