Jessica Haggerthwaite: Witch Dispatcher

Emma Barnes's Jessica Haggerthwaite: Witch Dispatcher is a funny family story for 8 year olds about a science-mad girl whose mum decides to set up in business as a witch.

What happens

Jessica is going to be a famous scientist when she grows up. She reads Astrophysics Made Simple at the breakfast table and got a microscope for her birthday.

Her mum, on the other hand, makes potions out of pond slime, serves nettle soup and carries a toad called Liverwort around in her pocket. And now she's announced she's going professional. Mellandra Haggerthwaite, Professional Witch!

Jessica is horrified. What will everyone say at school? Dad thinks it's a terrible idea too, and after a huge row he moves out to Aunt Kate's.

So Jessica sticks a sign on her bedroom door saying JESSICA HAGGERTHWAITE WITCH DISPATCHER and starts making plans. Plan A is to get her teacher to talk some science into Mum. It goes horribly wrong. Miss Barnaby ends up as Mum's very first customer (and Mum mixes her a love potion).

It's very funny. Every plan Jessica makes seems to backfire, and her mum is completely unstoppable, sneaking posters into supermarkets when nobody's looking. Jessica's little brother Midge quietly expects the worst every time, and he's usually right!

There's plenty of heart too. Jessica is stubborn and rushes in, just like her mum (she'd hate to hear that). She really misses her dad. And the bit where she remembers him getting her the microscope, when Mum had wanted to buy her a crystal ball, is very sweet.

One thing to mention. Mum and Dad row a lot about money, and Dad moving out happens early on. It's handled lightly and with lots of laughs, but it might touch a nerve for a child whose own parents are splitting up.

What to read next

If you've got a reader who knows all about embarrassing families, Wild Thing is more from Emma Barnes, with Kate trying to sell her little sister (who has just got a toy guitar stuck up her nose).