ARCHIE PENNOH

Nobody knows what put the D in Darlene. Was it dread? Doom? Disappointment?Or did delight simply pass her door one day, knock twice. and decide not to stay? Whatever the reason, Darlene the Devil Witch has been sour ever since. She grumbles at giggles. She sneers at songs. She finds merriment miserable and togetherness terribly inconvenient. And holidays? Holidays make her itch. Too much twinkle. Too much tinsel.
Too many treats. Too many people being pleased without first asking Darlene's permission. So beneath a crooked moon, inside a crooked house, a crooked little thought curls through her crooked little mind: If happiness won't come to Darlene. Darlene will come for happiness. Out comes the broom. Down goes the moon. And off goes Darlene-dashing, darting, dipping through the dark-with a sack large enough for every celebration she can snatch. Pumpkins disappear. Presents vanish. Candles go missing. Decorations develop legs. Even midnight had better watch itself. Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's are about to meet a witch with a wicked wish, a miserable mission and enough bitterness to make a lemon pucker. Darlene steals. Darlene schemes. Darlene snatches everything that sparkles. But something strange keeps happening. She can steal a candle. but not its light. She can steal a present. but not the giving. She can steal a pumpkin. although carrying twelve of them on a broom proves to be a deeply unfortunate decision. WHOOOOOOSH- SPLAT. The holidays keep slipping through her fingers. The tighter Darlene grabs, the less she holds. The more cheer she chases, the more cheer chases her. And soon the witch who wanted everyone miserable discovers the most dreadful, dastardly, disgusting possibility of all: She might accidentally have fun. A wickedly whimsical children's holiday adventure filled with spooky humor, magical mischief, funny witches, Halloween tricks and treats, Christmas wonder, Hanukkah lights, Kwanzaa traditions, New Year's celebration, family, laughter, diverse holiday magic and one deliciously disagreeable Devil Witch who would rather swallow her broom than admit her heart might still have a little holiday left in it. After all. you can steal the things around a holiday. Stealing the holiday inside someone? Darlene may need a bigger broom.