An exciting middle grade series with an underdog heroine and a magical world of witches that makes for great escapism.
We only came to know about this middle-grade book series, The Worst Witch, after catching its TV adaptation on Netflix. Now my girls are just crazy over both the books and TV series! Written by Jill Murphy and published over 1974-2018, the eight book series tells of the escapades of Mildred Hubble, a student at Miss Cackle's Academy, a boarding school for witches. Because of her bumbling ways and knack for getting into trouble, Mildred is called 'the worst witch' by her potions mistress. Despite that, her kindheartness and bravery would inevitably save the day in dire situations, like when another coven of witches planned an attack on the academy. The books are recommended for readers age 7 and up. The first few books are quite simple (word print bigger, book thinner), but the series "grows up" with its protagonist and the vocabulary becomes slightly harder and length of book longer towards the end of the series. It's nonetheless still easy to read and understand for my youngest who will turn eight this year. My kids remarked that the TV series is a lot more dramatic and some parts, scarier than the books. But given that the books differed from the TV show, they were still able to enjoy both books and TV series without major spoilers. I find the plots in the TV series more complex with more interesting backstories in comparison to the books, but I still enjoyed the stories on both mediums tremendously what with its underdog heroine and the magical world of witches that makes for great escapism 🥰
I wonder if the eighth book is the last book of this series or will the next book be out in 5-6 years' time? I can't wait that long! 😅
What books are you and your kids reading during this stay home circuit breaker month? 😊
Disclaimer: I borrowed the books from the library, and my opinions and reviews here are strictly my and my family’s own.
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.
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