"The Worst Witch to the Rescue" is the 6th in the popular "Worst Witch" series by Jill Murphy, the first of which was published back in 1975. The series follows Mildred Hubble, a young trainee Witch, during her time at Cackles Academy, an old fashioned and traditional boarding school for Witches.

Here, Mildred is starting the second term of her third year, and is determined that she is no longer going to be the worst witch. Over the holidays the girls have been given a project by Miss Hardbroom, their strict potions teacher, to come up with "something interesting" and Mildred thinks she's come up with something really great, something she is even keeping from her best friends. She does though tell Ethel Hallow, the teachers pet who is top of her year. Ethel though has struggled with the project, which requires creativeness, something she doesn't have, and instead manages to steal Mildreds for her own. Mildred's first day turns into a disaster with her pottery turning into rattle snakes and the embarrassment of Ethel taking her project as her own, and it takes all her bravery to rescue the only one who can expose Ethel's lies.

This book would mainly suit young girls, probably 7-14. Obviously, it will be particularly good for those who have read earlier books in the series, regardless of age.

One of the great things about the whole series is the wonderful illustrations from the author. In this book there is at least one per double page, ranging from almost a full page, to the size of a few lines. I also like the characters, particularly since despite the magic, they feel very realistic. It also has a fair bit of humour, not laugh out loud, but more subtle.

Hunt down Jill Murphy and make sure she's going to write more Worst Witch books. ;)

It is a charming story, especially for younger children, and big kids (like me). Beyond "Witchcraft is evil" I can't think of anything offensive at all about the book, and it has a happy ending, but also excitement and some danger in between. The descriptions and illustrations really bring the story to life.

It might be far from Harry Potter, but it says something when a series is still popular over 30 years down the line, and has been made into a film and a popular TV series, itself running for 3 years and having 2 spin-offs (although like most spin-offs, neither were as good as the original).
Also, whilst many would argue that Harry Potter takes a lot of influence from The Worst Witch, it's also arguable that The Worst Witch is benefiting from the success of Harry Potter, and the timing of this and the previous Worst Witch book probably have something to do with the success of Harry Potter.

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Created Aug 22, 2008 at 6:14pm • Submit your own review...