Anna Dale

I agree entirely with the sentiment of the other reviewers that this is a book that suffered for the existence of Harry Potter. On the other hand, Harry Potter might have been its saving grace at the same time. This is definitely from the same genre and it was published at about the same time, so the HP comparisons are inevitable, but this is also the book that fans of HP would have picked up fresh from one of his adventures simply because they wanted to read a bit more of this show more semi-realistic children's fantasy. It dances the same unlikely line between a realistic fiction story and modern fantasy. There were times when I felt like I was reading a British Beverly Cleary and other times when I felt like I was reading an adventure of Merlin. It kept up that happy balance too right through the end. If nothing else, this book will tide over any reader who needs a hit of fantasy without the desire to get trapped in the depths of an epic series. show less

A lovely little book about a missing page in an ancient spell book, windsprites, evil twins, a pair of rats called Dunkel and Fleck, snakes that can turn themselves into fountain pens, overworked brooms and witches, of course.
Probably not very memorable, but a nice way to while away a rainy afternoon.

Sent by train to spend Christmas with his mother and her new family, Joe accidentally runs into a coven of witches. Tricked by one into getting off at the wrong station, Joe must find transportation to his mother's home. Given a tricycle, he pedals off only to discover once arriving in Canterbury, that the bike has its own destination and cannot be stopped. Crashing into shrubbery, Joe meets Twiggy and her fellow witches from Dead-nettle coven. He arrives at his mother's home with no memory show more of these events as the witches have used a special tool to extract them. Twiggy, however, arrives to reverse the process. The two become involved in seeking a missing page ripped from an important book for witches. As they get closer to solving the mystery, they discover that others are looking for the page as well. When Joe revisits his train journey and the strange events that took place, he discovers that the page must have been disguised as his ticket and is in his possession. Remembering that his sister, Esme, used the ticket as a bookmark he asks for the book and discovers it has been returned to the library. Joe and Twiggy set off for the library hoping to retrieve it only to discover it is already in the hands of people who plan to use it for evil means. show less

A quiet summer vacation in a small country village turns out to be anything but peaceful for Athene and her younger brother, Zach, when they find themselves caught up in a skirmish between two groups of magical, gnome-like creatures.