Diary of an Accidental Witch by Perdita & Honor Cargill & Katie Saunders

Diary of an Accidental Witch is a magical story full of heart, humour and witchy shenanigans – it’s the perfect story to read at Halloween!

Eleven year old Bea Black has got a new diary in which she records her experience of moving to a new village, the challenges of starting a new school, making new friends and dealing with bullies. But Bea’s situation is complicated by the fact that she has been enrolled in the wrong school…

The Story: Bea Black and her scientist dad have moved to Little Spellshire so that he can write a book about its ‘famously freaky microclimate’. Bea makes friends with her neighbour Ashkan who shows her around the local school, Spellshire Academy. But Dad has made a mistake and enrolled Bea at the local witch school. Bea’s first half term is eventful as she attends very different classes to those that she’s used to. But can she swap schools before the Halloween Ball?

Despite Bea’s constant hope that she can switch schools (especially so that she can avoid wearing the embarrassing Halloween costume that Dad is making) she shows determination and resilience as she practises new witch skills and gets to know her classmates. Bea’s diary style is lively and engaging and includes all her inner thoughts and experiences as well as detailing her struggle to keep the magical elements of her new school a secret from Dad and Ashkan.

Little Spellshire is a magical village full of cats and odd shops like Mr Riggle’s Emporium, Taffy Tallywick’s Tea Shop and The Moon and Broomstick Pub – we love the map which shows the village. There are two schools, the new Spellshire Academy and The School of Extraordinary Arts.

Bea’s class includes a mix of personalities, some friendlier and more accepting than others – bully Blair Smith-Smythe wastes no time in making Bea’s life difficult. Bea is immediately put in charge of the class pet, a grumpy frog called Stan who makes us laugh! But Bea has no inherent magical ability and faces an uphill struggle to keep up with her classmates. Accidental mishaps, madness and mayhem ensue as she learns to fly a broom, wave a wand, keep up with mysterious magic lessons and get used to school canteen food.

Diary of an Accidental Witch culminates with The Halloween Ball, a magical evening that is unusual and memorable for many reasons. We particularly love the way that Bea’s costume stands out from all the others! 

We love Katie Saunders’ magical black and white illustrations which are peppered throughout the book. Sir Scary Cook’s moustache is fabulous and the expressions on Bea’s face when things go wrong are brilliant!

Diary of an Accidental Witch is a fun, page turning story with a heartwarming ending. We can’t wait to read more of Bea’s adventures with her new friends.

Authors: Perdita and Honor Cargill / Illustrator: Katie Saunders

Thank you to Little Tiger for sending a review copy of Diary of an Accidental Witch, it’s the perfect Halloween read 🙂

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