Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jul 15, 2016 9:20:55 GMT
MANUEL DE PICSOU (Junior McDucks Handbook)-- French publisher Hachette has a issued 9 versions of the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook, and, then, decided to begin issuing special versions themed after specific characters. There were, for instance, Grandma Duck's 400 best recipes, the Junior Gearlooses Guidebook and the Junior Woodchucks Spellbook (featuring Magica, Madam Mim and Hazel). The last was the Junior McDucks Handbook, which is about economics, the history of money and riches, famous robbers and con artists, etc. It was masterfully illustrated by Giovan Battista Carpi, featuring many varied Disney characters (from Scrooge, Mickey, Gyro and Magica to Captain Hook and Prince John) and also some human ones.
That looks very interesting. But having a "Junior Woodchucks' Witches Spellbook" somehow seems very unlikely. I really doubt that the nerdy, anal retentive adult leaders of The Junior Woodchucks would allow witches spells to be learned by the juvenile Junior Woodchucks. Somehow, that doesn't seem to go with "woodcraft arts". Maybe the "wicker" religion would go hand in hand with learning forest survival and also use spells to gain favour with the forest spirits. Maybe the old Keltic Druids would teach spells to their children, to gain favour from the gods.
But Junior Woodchucks, as Barks portrayed them, would be the last to do that.
Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jul 15, 2016 19:30:23 GMT
"Wicker"? Don't you mean "Wicca"? At any rate, I think the "Junior Woodchucks Spellbook" came to be because this was the first Hachette book that wasn't just a "Junior Woodchuck Guidebook". They weren't sure that if they didn't link the book to the previous "Guidebooks" in a very obvious way, the audience would buy it, so they kept "Junior Woodchucks" in the title. From "Grandma Duck" onwards, they discovered that they didn't actually need "junior woodchucks" in the title to sell.