
I was inspired to write Crooked Witch Soup because when my children were a little younger they loved a good rhythmic book. I must have read Julia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom a thousand times! I set out to write a story that had a similar prose style but that depicted an African witch.
This was something I had never been able to read to them. As the story developed, it also became important to me that the witch had very human and non stereotypical characteristics.
In CWS the witch is mistaken for being mean but her actions actually reveal a kind, forgetful and generous character. The ability for the antagonists in the story to see the witch for who she really is, is what allows them to accept themselves more fully and this is ultimately what unlocks the spell’s magic!