By Michelle Blaylock and Patricia Poe 

For the Enquirer

Title: “Dark Witch” 

Author: Nora Roberts

Iona Sheehan has a talent for working with horses and a deep desire to visit County Mayo in Ireland.
She comes from a family of magic-holders. Her parents never gave her any affection, so she decides to leave America and travel to Ireland to experience her ancestors’ ways and to visit her cousins.
Once she arrives, she finds the beauty of the village to be enchanting, and she meets a horseman who will steal her heart.
Underneath all of the beauty and charm of this story, however, is an evil that is menacing and vengeful.
“Dark Witch” is the first book in a trilogy of books called The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy. The William Bradford Huie Library of Hartselle has all three of the titles on our shelves. We look forward to seeing you at the library.

Title: “Snow White and the Very Angry Dwarf”

Author: Steve Smallman

Illustrator: Neil Price

Ages: Pre-K to second grade

This is a wonderful twist on the “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” story. Author Steve Smallman uses traits that can be annoying to illustrate ideas for problem solving, anger management and getting along with others.  
In this story, Snow White is once again running from the Witch and ends up finding a house that looks like it belongs to children. Snow White begins by cleaning and cooking for them and is surprised to find the house is actually occupied by seven dwarfs.  
They introduce themselves as Sniffy, Whiffy, Shouty, Jolly, Hairy and Hungry and immediately dive into dinner.  Unfortunately, Angry shows up too late to eat and is extremely upset. He shouts and makes everyone unhappy then stomps out, slamming the door behind him. 
Snow White follows him and offers advice about how to appropriately deal with his anger. In the end, Angry ends up saving Snow White from the witch by using his awesome new coping skills.
The book is a fun read-aloud. It is the perfect length, and the bright illustrations add to the story. 
This book also has questions at the end to help parents lead children into exploring their own emotions and helping them discover their own coping skills.
We have other books by Steve Smallman that focus on helping children and parents learn a variety of coping skills. We hope to see soon at the library!