The Witches of Worm

SNYDER, Zilpha Keatley. The Witches of Worm. Illustrated by Alton Raible. NY: Atheneum, 1972. 8vo, [vi] 183pp. Black cloth stamped in yellow. Yellow endpapers; 12 full-page b&w illustrations. Faintly foxed at top edge, else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (slight wear to spine ends and upper edge, flap corners lightly creased, no medal affixed). With a bookplate signed by the author, three-time Newbery Honor author Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

First edition. 1973 Newbery Honor Book! Jessica, a lonely 12 year-old girl, finds a blind, almost hairless kitten that she names Worm. But Worm seems to have a terrible hold on Jessica, compelling her to do cruel and destructive things to persons in her life who have upset her. Jessica’s journey to uncovering what made Worm so unusual leads her to the answer to her problems, but not the answer she expected. An important early precursor to the modern YA novel.