Branching Out: Books for Fans of The Worst Witch

The first in a joy-filled series of illustrated chapter books, telling the funny story of Mira’s adventures as she starts unicorn school. Mira wishes to be paired up with the most beautiful, sparkly unicorn of her dreams, but the reality presents a grumpy, untidy, doughnut-eating unicorn named Dave.

This humorous adventure series explores themes of friendship, inclusion and loyalty, with a backdrop of rainbows, glitter and a dose of unicorn toilet humour, too. Children love the idea of the secret unicorn school – a bit like a sparklier version of Hogwarts. Illustrations, age-appropriate humour and a diverse cast of characters make this a super choice of chapter book story for readers aged 6-8.

The Shop-Witch’s Quest is a wonderful tale of magic, friendship and adventure. The light-hearted nature of this read, along with the interesting and accessible vocabulary used throughout, would make it perfect for any reader beginning their independent reading journey as an introduction to chapter books, as well as for those who enjoy stories about witches and magic.

In this story, there are a variety of witches with differing occupations, including a garden-witch, a smith-witch and post-witch. Laurel herself is a shop-witch, who helps her parents run the magic shop ‘Witch Wares Emporium’ in the village. There are also witches in the story that do not ride the traditional broomstick and instead use other interesting forms of unexpected flying transportation.

A fast-paced, giggle-filled delight, The House at the Edge of Magic is made for sharing.

The story follows the desperate existence of Nine, an Oliver Twist-like character who is orphaned and abandoned. Living in The Nest, Nine must work as a purse-snatcher to please Pockets, the grizzly, revolting, leader of the thieflings. Nine is strong, wilful, resourceful and independent, but above all, she is a child who needs to be loved and deserves to be cared about. The only comfort in Nine’s lonely life is the sanctuary she seeks from the derelict library under of the care of the exasperated librarian, Mr. Downes. Having stolen a mysterious object from a young lady in a scarlet dress, Nine is whisked to a world of quirky houses, frogs’ tongues, relocating toilets and sugar bowls with attitude. It is impossible not to laugh at the crazy antics of the goings-on in the house in which Nine now finds herself.

The characters we meet on this crazy, quirky journey are vivid and surreal. Eric is a troll with a penchant for boiled sweets and who keeps house for Flabberghast – a wizard with a flamboyant dress sense. Only in this house would you think that a kilt-wearing spoon was ‘normal’!

The inhabitants of the house must rid their home of a curse cast by a wicked witch and, with the offer of immeasurable riches as a reward, Nine finds herself determined to help. What follows is a whirlwind of hysterical, action-packed occurrences. Something surprising lurks behind every door. There is a cupboard under the stairs of which I am envious – a locked tea cupboard whose handle magically transforms anyone who touches it and only in the garden of this house would you find giant bats with fizzing, sizzling corrosive poo!

Despite the madcap, zany exploits, there is also a gently beating heart at the centre of this tale. Nine emerges wiser and in some ways richer by the end. She learns that, despite Pockets’ cynical view, life can indeed bring you strawberries and that not all treasures are of the material kind.

Ember Spark is another magical adventure story written by Abi Elphinstone.

This enjoyable read tells the tale of Ember, a girl living in the village of Yawn in Scotland, who longs for adventure. Her wishes come true when she is recruited as an apprentice for Rusty Fizzbang, vet to all magical beasts. Abi Elphinstone is known for being an excellent storyteller and her use of detailed descriptions in her stories, which really help the characters and story to come to life. Ember Spark is another excellent example of this, in particular the first chapter, which hooks readers in straight away. Readers will enjoy her choice of vocabular, the theme of magic running throughout and the use of humour, especially some of the character names and the actions of some of the magical beasts, whose names suit their personalities perfectly!Ember, as the main character, is likeable and relatable. As the story progresses, she learns the importance of friendship and sharing adventures with others. Other characters, including Rusty and the villain – Jasper Hornswoggle – add an extra element of magic and danger to the story that will keep readers entertained throughout.

The illustrations by Kristina Kister, which also include a detailed map of the east coast of Scotland at the beginning of the book, help to tell the story as well as offer a visual prompt to less confident readers– it is always nice to come across illustrations in chapter books.Overall this was a very entertaining story and one that could certainly be read independently or enjoyed as a whole class text.

Diary of an Accidental Witch is funny, quirky and super-readable. Think, The Worst Witch rebooted for a new generation, with a sprinkling of Amelia Fang and Wizard in Training stirred into the same cauldron.
When Bea Black’s Dad accidentally enrols her into the ‘wrong’ school, she learns more about magic than maths. Bea keeps a record of daily events, such as how surprisingly disgusting witch food can be. The entries are unusually precisely timed and peppered with crossings out, as though lifted from a real diary…