Patricia Coombs


Patricia Coombs. She is the author and illustrator of many children's picture books, including the popular Dorrie the Little Witch series. “Of her childhood, she says, ‘I was forever being told to get my nose out of a book and go outside. As a result I ended up reading in odd places where I wouldn’t be noticed—behind my brother’s mice cages, under lilac bushes. The smells of mice and lilacs to this day evoke certain stories.’” She attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and received her B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Washington. She first started writing and illustrating stories for her two daughters, the youngest of which, together with a Siamese cat named Dingbat, became the inspiration for Dorrie and her cat Gink.

Dorrie the Little Witch Series

Dorrie is a little witch whose “hat is always on crooked and her stockings never match.” She has a black cat named Gink who follows her wherever she goes. She lives with her mother, the Big Witch, and their house-hand, Cook. All of the 20 Dorrie books except Dorrie and the Haunted Schoolhouse, and the 2009-2010 print-on-demand reprints, are currently out of print. However, the reprints provided by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform are readily available at such online bookstores as Amazon.com.
Although best known for her Dorrie series, Patricia Coombs has also written and illustrated several other picture books for children. All of them are currently out of print.
Patricia Coombs has illustrated all of her own books, as well as providing drawings for the following books written by other authors: