The Only Thing Worse Than Witches

Gr 4–6—Rupert Campbell is a fifth grader in Mrs. Frabbleknacker's class. She's the meanest teacher in school; she discourages her students from becoming friends and forces them to participate in gross projects. Rupert's mother doesn't make his life any easier, insisting that he avoid the one thing that fascinates him most—witches. When Rupert sees an ad for a witch's apprentice in the local paper, curiosity gets the best of him. Witching Two couldn't be further from his expectations. Her difficulty with spells and potions lead the duo through a series of hijinks. As their friendship forms, each agrees to help with the other's greatest challenge, be it passing a series of exams to become a full-fledged witch or standing up to a truly terrifying teacher. This friendship is the story's strongest element, as the two characters help each other through their toughest battles. Mrs. Frabbleknacker is as awful as her name, with antics reminiscent of scenes from Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Follett, 1978) gone wrong. There is a similar undercurrent of silliness in this book, including some of Witching Two's strange beliefs and aversion to bunnies. A solid choice for libraries looking to bolster their collection of lower-reading-level, middle-grade fiction.—Nicole Signoretta Sutton, Kingston Elementary School, Cherry Hill, NJ