The witch's children return in this third picture-book adventure, and that, as the school cat says, spells TROUBLE! Coming upon their friend Gemma waiting outside the gates of the local school one day, and discovering that she is petrified because it is her first day, the magical siblings use their magic to solve the problem. Unfortunately (although not surprisingly), their solution - turning Gemma into an ogre, who isn't afraid of anything - only leads to chaos, which then requires more magical intervention. Soon the schoolchildren have been transformed into characters from various fairytales, the school itself into a storybook, and the school inspector into a smelly cheese. When the witch's children find (as always) that they can't undo their spells, they call for that reliable fixer-of-all-troubles: their mother...

Like its two predecessors, The Witch's Children and The Witch's Children and the Queen, this tale follows the basic storyline of three children who, acting upon their good intentions, get themselves into a great deal of enchanted trouble, and must rely on maternal authority to get them out again. I don't know that I found it as amusing as The Witch's Children and the Queen, which is my favorite of the three stories about these magical siblings, but it certainly was amusing at times. My favorite part was probably when the Middle One, thinking of the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, turned Class Three into fleas by mistake. As always, the quirky artwork by Russell Ayto, although not precisely my cup of tea, adds to the sense of madcap fun. Recommended to young children who enjoy witchy adventures, and to anyone who enjoyed the first two books devoted to the mishaps of these characters. ( )

The witch's children want to go to school, but when they decide to cast some spells at school, things get out of hand. A very funny take on the stress of a first day at school. ( )