The Worst Witch Saves the Day

Mildred Hubble, the eponymous worst witch in Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, made her debut in 1974 and instantly broke new ground with Murphy’s delicious combination of an accessible and entertaining text interspersed with plentiful sharply realised and characterful line drawings. 31 years later the formula remains unchanged and Murphy’s text and illustrations are as fresh and child centred as ever.

Mildred’s inevitable scrapes (wrong kind of cat, broken broomstick, spells that go wrong etc) lead to her saving the day when Miss Cackle’s evil twin sister, disguised as Form Three’s new teacher, attempts to take over the school. As ever, Murphy’s plot line zips along effortlessly and, along the way, demonstrates a keen observation of school room friendships and rivalries. That Form Three welcomes the appointment of strict Miss Hardbroom as their class teacher with relief (after the anarchic regime of the impostor) is entirely plausible.