There are eight books in 'The Worst Witch' series, plus a spelling book, but I only have one two on the shelf, so this is it from me, at least for now. It's another quick read, wrapping up in just ninety pages even in large print and with copious illustrations by the author. I must say that I like these a lot, right down to the bat hinges on Mildred's door. The silhouette on the cover is hers too and it's a good illustration of the last scene in the book, cobwebs included. The biggest problem the book has isn't that it's short but that it feels transitional as if we've just been set up for a story and the book ends before we can get to it.

We're still in the first form but it's now the summer term and everybody's happy to be back except Mildred Hubble, because all she can imagine is what she's going to do wrong this term. However, a new student arrives and she turns out to be just as bad a witch as Mildred. What's more, she's put into Mildred's care by the headmistress, Miss Cackle, so whatever one does, the other is caught in it too and the thing Enid turns out to be best at is accidentally getting Mildred into trouble. She's a much more sympathetic character here, not so much the worst witch as an unlucky one.

The template is exactly the same as the first book: an introduction, then four segments, the final one being the biggest in terms of potential disaster and the only one that goes right, kinda sorta. The introduction is to bring us back and let us know what we're likely to be in for this term, with a couple of important events: Sports Day and Miss Cackle's birthday celebration, which older pupils consider the most boring event of the year. Of course, the first form haven't gone through it yet.

The first introduces a new teacher. There are still only two at Assembly: Miss Cackle, who runs the school, and Miss Hardbroom, who's by far the most obvious person in it, not only because she's in charge of the first form. However, we get to meet Miss Bat during the first segment and also Miss Drill during the second. The former teaches chanting and the latter gym. Miss Bat is particularly well-drawn, both literally in illustrations and through prose. Now she has a successful book behind her, it seems that Murphy is happy to dig a little deeper into characterisation.

Enid doesn't try to get Mildred into trouble in Miss Bat's class, just bring a little levity to a boring subject, but she manages both. It's a memorable scene, subtler and better than the equivalent in the first book with Mildred and Maud going invisible. It also leads into the second, because it gets Mildred sent to the headmistress's office and then into a gap, because Miss Bat doesn't want her back in class. That gives her time to get into trouble again in the second segment, courtesy of the monkey that Enid has in her room.

The third is Sports Day, as you might imagine, and the fourth Miss Cackle's birthday celebrations. The former is set up well with a list of sports we can expect to see, like pole-vaulting, sack-racing, cat-balancing, relay broomstick-racing. However, we only get to pole-vaulting and we're done, as Enid accidentally gets Mildred into trouble again, resulting in disqualification from the rest, and then feigns injury to get out of them herself. These segments are all fun but they're short and I'd suggest that this is the shortest with the least bang for the buck, however much damage Mildred causes in Miss Hardbroom's study.

The fourth is a little skimpy too, but it's balanced much better and also gives Ethel Hallow a brief moment to prove she's still not just the "form sneak and good-goody" but also the only villain the series can boast. It's Enid who sets up this escapade yet again, but it's Ethel who makes it one and that gives Maud the opportunity to come good. When Miss Cackle entrusted Enid into Mildred's care, Maud got pouty and jealous and hung out with Ethel for the rest of the term, regretting it a great deal but not doing anything about it until her impeccable moment on stage saving the day.

What all that means is that Mildred isn't the worst witch after all or, if she is, then Enid is too. It's fair to say that everything that goes wrong in the first book is Mildred's fault but everything that goes wrong in the second is Enid's, even if it's Mildred getting into trouble. Her goal for the term, which seems increasingly hard to achieve, is as simple as not getting expelled. Spoiler: she makes it through to the last day of term but it's a very close call. And with that morsel of a book read, I'd like to snack on the next few in the series but I don't have them, so c'est la vie. ~~ Hal C F Astell

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