The Witches of Anderson House: A Spell for Disaster

This vibrant illustrated book for children is the curtain-raiser for a new series about the adventures of some elderly witches.

Myrtle Stormwhisper lives at Anderson House, a retirement home for witches. Along with her friends Bea Broomfield and Heather Moon, she is content to while away her time knitting, sitting still, and watching television. Her magic-making days are well and truly over. However, this all changes when a young boy called Henry knocks on her door and asks politely for some help finding his lost hamster.

Myrtle is certainly reluctant to help. It has been such a long time since she fired up her flying broomstick, and she is nervous after her most recent magical efforts ended with the postman turned into a toad! Nevertheless, she is persuaded by her friends to dust off her old hat and wand and to whisk Henry off into the night sky to conduct an aerial search for his beloved pet.

It is a simple story, written in manageable language with few surprises. Though there is little drama or excitement, there is a great deal to enjoy about The Witches of Anderson House. Jennie Poh’s illustrations are magical and generously adorn every page. They have a unique, mixed-media style and are bursting with colourful clouds of pastel shades. The pictures deliver brilliant characterisation for all the witches, each of whom is captured in an adorable portrait gallery at the beginning of the book.

The majority of the witches portrayed do not feature in this particular story. Poh is obviously keeping her powder dry for future episodes and, with names like Zahra Rainwater and Mei Dragonrider, the other witches clearly have their own fun stories to tell in the future.

There is nothing wicked about The Witches of Anderson House, whose story celebrates that age is no barrier to excitement. There is just enough magic and whimsy to engage young readers and the breathtaking pictures will encourage children to revisit it repeatedly.