The Worst Witch to the Rescue

Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch to the Rescue is a funny, very satisfying school story for 7 year olds about Mildred Hubble finally having a brilliant idea, and Ethel pinching it.

What happens

Mildred has spent the whole holiday on her school project. She's invented a spell that makes small animals talk (for exactly two weeks, then never again). She's tried it out on a shrew, a hedgehog and a rather quiet newt.

For once she can't wait to get back to Miss Cackle's Academy and show Miss Hardbroom.

On the way she bumps into Ethel Hallow, up a tree. Ethel is unusually nice. She listens to every detail and kindly gathers everything up when Mildred's bag tumbles to the ground. You can probably guess where this is going (Mildred can't).

By lunchtime Mildred's pottery has turned into five rattlesnakes and everyone thinks she did it. By the afternoon Ethel is reading out Mildred's spell, word for word, as her own. And Mildred's precious blue folder? Fifteen pages of smiley faces.

It's SO unfair, and that's what makes it gripping. Your reader will know exactly what Ethel did while the teachers haven't a clue. Even Maud and Enid aren't quite sure who to believe.

There's a secret too. Mildred has smuggled a tortoise into school in her cat basket, which is completely against the rules. He turns out to be grumpy, very clever and not at all keen on the name Speedy. He might also be the only witness to what Ethel did.

The snakes make for one properly scary moment, hissing and rattling across the art room table. They're gone in a flash, though, and the real trouble is all about fairness and friends.

If your reader has ever been blamed for something they didn't do, they'll be cheering Mildred on.

What to read next

For another Mildred story with a much-loved pet at the heart of it, try The Worst Witch All At Sea. On the first morning of a snowy summer term, Miss Cackle calls Mildred into her study because she wants a word about Tabby.