Not Just a Witch

Grade 5-8 After 30 years at witch school, best friends Heckie and Dora plan to settle down in a small town, Do Good, and make the world a better place. But when they quarrel on graduation day, Heckie is left to carry on alone. She recruits a wacky bunch of helpers to form the Wellbridge Wickedness Hunters: three children, a dragworm familiar, a garden witch, a former witch beauty queen, a wizard hot-air-balloon enthusiast, and a wizard endeavoring to make a walking cheese. At first, all seems to go well. Heckie uses her power to turn humans into animals to rid the town of wicked people and supplement the animal population of the local zoo. However, her plans begin to go awry when she meets a slick furrier who wants to exploit her talents to obtain rare snow leopard pelts. Fans of Ibbotson's other humorous fantasies will be pleased to see more of the same here. The story moves at a satisfying pace and the characters provide just the right balance of silliness and sagacity, masking any moralizing with satire.