Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth Book

Elizabeth is an only child, new in town, and the shortest kid in her class. She's also pretty lonely, until she meets Jennifer. Jennifer is...well, different. She's read Macbeth. She never wears jeans or shorts. She never says "please" or "thank you." And she says she is a witch.

It's not always easy being friends with a witch, but it's never boring. At first an apprentice and then a journeyman witch, Elizabeth learns to eat raw ends and how to cast small spells. And she and Jennifer collaborate on cooking up an ointment that will enable them to fly. That's when a marvelous toad, Hilary Ezra, enters their lives. And that's when trouble starts to brew.

Laura Hummel - Children's Literature

It is not easy being new in town, tiny in stature, an only child and the loneliest girl in the USA. Elizabeth is all of these, but life changes dramatically when she meets Jennifer. Jennifer is not like other children, as a matter of fact, she is a self-proclaimed witch. Elizabeth readily becomes her apprentice, and although she is a picky eater, she goes through weeks of food trials. One week she must consume a raw egg daily, then comes the raw oatmeal, followed by a week of raw hot dogs. After the week of onion sandwiches the girls begin to work on creating a flying ointment. Enter Hilary Ezra, a much-loved toad. Both girls vie for the affections of the toad (which does not seem to love them back) and haul him everywhere in a little red wagon. Elizabeth is horrified when Jennifer teaches her about Macbeth and she realizes that the first ingredient for the flying ointment is a toad. Things really start to jump and spells are flying! From the perspective of a ten-year-old comes an engaging and timeless story. Konigsburg's loveable characters have been around for decades and are sure to be as appealing today as they were when first published. Black pen-and-ink sketches accompany the story.