Home › Find a book › Which Witch?
Which Witch?Eva Ibbotson
Which Witch?
by Eva Ibbotson
A wizard must marry and holds a competition for the blackest witch in the district. The kindest entrant has no chance at all, unless she cheats.
A story about witches and wizards and children, funny and spooky in tone. We would put it with children of 8–11, and at a reading age of about 9 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
The wizard Arriman the Awful must marry, and can only wed the witch who performs the blackest magic, so a contest is held — and the entrant he actually likes, the sweet and gentle Belladonna, can produce nothing but flowers and sunshine, however hard she tries to be wicked. Eva Ibbotson's comic fantasy is a delight: the parade of competing witches and their revolting spells is wonderfully inventive, the romance is played with a light touch, and there is a small orphan and a worm called Rover to root for. The magic is ghoulish in the cheerful, cobwebs-and-cauldrons way rather than anything truly frightening, and while there is mild peril the whole thing is buoyant and kind-hearted. For an eight- to eleven-year-old who likes their witches funny rather than scary, it is a warm, witty standalone from a much-loved author, and a lovely antidote to grimmer fantasy.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Dial a GhostEva Ibbotson
The Secret of Platform 13Eva Ibbotson
The WitchesRoald Dahl
The Wizards of OnceCressida Cowell
A Pinch of MagicMichelle Harrison
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.