WITCH-IN-TRAINING, WITCH SWITCH
by Maeve Friel
(HarperCollins Children’s Books, £3.99)

What is it all about?

Jessica is learning the Witch Switch – how to magically change shape. Although being a cat, a turkey, or a butterfly can be great fun, it’s also scary. Every trainee witch must promise never to scream while another witch has switched. If they do, the switched witch will become whatever creature she has turned into.

Kid’s view

I quite liked Miss Strega’s witch shop because it was smelly and full of wildcats and birds. The ordinary people (non-witches) said the shop was a disgrace and kept complaining about it. It was good when Miss Strega turned into an owl and had to stay that way because Jessica screamed while she was switching. Some of this book was quite boring, but I did like the idea of switching. I would like to switch into a dog.
Betty (7)

Credits

Parent’s view

“The only book Betty has ever read by herself is Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. She thought it was so good she never bothered to read another.Betty did finish Witch Switch, but not without the occasional howl of protest. Witch Switch is mercifully short, with simple sentences and plenty of illustrations. It rambled on, with endless switching into different animals and things going wrong. It depicts a cosy, madcap world where the witches are silly and jolly and nothing horrible ever happens. I would recommend these books for very young readers. They are easy to read and can only give them confidence.”
Alice, Betty’s mum.

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