fear of witches

[seekarn]

My 5 yr old daughter has suddenly started being afraid of witches and won't go into rooms by herself because she thinks there's one hiding in there! I'm not sure where the idea has come from as we don't watch anything spooky on tele or read witchy books. Do you think I should try reading some funny books about witches to her, to try and lighten up her image of witches or do you think this might make things worse? Any recommendations for best books to try?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

The meg and mog books are good.
Has her teacher been reading something to the class?

My dd (aged 2) developed a sudden fear of ghosts. No idea how! Dh has done a great job making 'friendly ghost' pictures/stories and they enjoy putting sheets over their heads and making ghost noises. Still a tiny bit uneasy though.

Think lighthearted witches is the way to go. Meg and Mog are nice, also Winnie the Witch.

Thanks very much for those suggestions, I'll have a look in the library.

depending on what your daughter is like, I can heartily recommend this series.

When I say 'what your daughter is like', I mean that my dd is a fairly streetwise 5, so although she can't read these herself yet, she loved them being read to her.

Otherwise definitely Winnie the Witch, especially as some new 'chapter book' Winnies have just been published and they're on offer at Redhouse.

if shes 5 she might be ready for chapter books. I got my dd also 5 some The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy, about a witch boarding school. My dd is really enjoying them. I read a chapter a night.

Hmm (muses) am I the only one who covets Winnie's rather fabulous mansion? Although the original all black Goth look was definitely superior....

How about the Titchy Witch books by Rose Impey. They're about the right age group.

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