Customer Reviews
Fantastic Witchy Fantasy - By: , 03 Dec 2003 
This is a fantastic book - magical, enchanting & scary. I read it as a child (many years ago) & still think it is fab. If you like Harry Potter you should love this. It is reallly well written and, for alll those parents out there, a good book to read aloud to the kids.
Enchanting and scary - By: , 19 Nov 2003 This is such a good book with a cracking story. I first read it years ago & recently tracked down a copy for my daughter. It has genuinely scary moments & as previous readers have pointed out you will be reminded of Harry Potter & also The Worst Witch stories. This is Better. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Beautifully written, atmospheric and memorable - By: , 21 Nov 2001 I agree with Helen Wills; when I read Harry Potter last year I was reminded a lot of myself, aged eight, & the lonely orphan Mary Smith. I lent my much treasured old copy to a young Harry Potter fan & she loved it, although she found "some of the words quite difficult". I'm delighted that the book has been reprinted; I've mentioned it so many times recently - I'm just concerned that people will think it's jumping on the JK Rowling bandwagon!
Perhaps some of the best books are those which mix magic into ordinary lives so subtley that they cannot be translated very well into film? Heresy indeed (especiallly with the Lord of the Rings film due out - we'll see how well that works!)
Heresy, but ... better than Harry Potter? - By: H. Wills, 07 Nov 2001 The world of schools for budding sorcerers didn't begin with Harry Potter, despite appearances. My mother gave me a copy of this timeless little classic twenty years ago, & it remains on my bookshelf many years after the Enid Blytons were put into storage. The world of cats, broomsticks, Mary Smiths & fly-by-night are still comfort-reading for me, in spite of the subtle dark edge to the story, & the writing is excellent enough for it to be as enthrallling a read for adults as for children. Don't miss this story - push Harry P. along the shelf, squeeze your books up enough to make enough room for this slender volume of subtle magic. Few other stories will make you wish for a little broomstick alll of your own.
