Jill Murphy (1) (1949–2021)

Thank you, Candlewick Press, for reissuing this — pardon the pun — magical series featuring witch-in-training Mildred Hubble. Before there was Harry Potter, before there was the TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch (even the cheery original), before there was Kiki’s Delivery Service, there was Mildred, an impetuous, clumsy and unlucky girl who first appeared in 1974. Despite her ill fortune, Mildred saves the day through her ingenuity and the help of her fast friends, Maud Spellbody and show more Enid Nightshade. A wonderful message for children who feel that nothing goes right.

In this, the eighth and latest book in the series, Star, the stray dog Mildred found in a previous book, is reclaimed by his owners. Heartbroken, Mildred seeks to find a way to be reunited with her dog. She also wishes that her archnemesis Ethel Hallow wouldn’t win all the prizes at the end of the year. No spoiler to reveal that Mildred gets recognized for her kindness and good intentions. (It’s in the title!)

Each book in the series covers one semester of the five years at Miss Crackle’s Academy for Witches, so we can expect two more. But newbies to author Jill Murphy’s humorous, good-natured series will enjoy this book as much as longtime fans.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review. show less

After the mediocre The Worst Witch Strikes Again, author Jill Murphy completely redeems herself with A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch.

The impulsive and accident-prone self-styled “worst witch” Mildred Hubble returns for her second year at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches; she’s happily reunited with her pals, Maud Spellbody and Enid Nightshade and, unfortunately, with her nemesis, Ethel Hollow, an arrogant straight-A student. To tell more would be to ruin the surprise, but let’s show more just say that it’s not a spoiler to reveal that the titular bad spell is a literal one. show less

This is a fun story with good illustrations which my daughter enjoyed. However, I had grave concerns about the message which appears to be that it is impossible to live a healthy lifestyle (and that's boring anyway) so we might as well just eat badly and accept being fat. While I understand that people need to be able to accept themselves as they are and that people ought not to be mocked for being overweight, I don't think this book got that particular message across in an acceptable way.

An easy read set in a fantasy school world. My children both read it quickly but the story stayed with them for future jokes and quotes (always a good sign in my view) The appeal of the setting and memorable characters make it a book to both engage early chapter readers or family read aloud time.