The Notwitches

When Melanda Notwitch meets Mitch the Witch and is encouraged to 'Join the Witches', things start to change. Up until now, Melanda has led a miserable life with her three aunts where she can never do anything right. To make matters worse, Melanda loves to write stories but whatever she writes is taken and eaten by Aunt Claggy - who devours stationery like other people might devour cakes. When Melanda asks Mitch to help her escape, she has no idea of the wild adventures that they are about to embark on.

The Notwitches by Gary Paton is a fun book of adventure with a wide range of extreme characters that younger children will love. The story offers a fantastical plot that holds the strength of family at its heart. Melanda is a strong heroine who is determined to escape her controlling and intimidating aunts in order to live her own life. She befriends Mitch, her talking cat, and the Hairy Skulls [bikers without bikes] who all help her on her mission.

The main themes of the book are friendship, family, bravery and determination. It would be enjoyed by younger readers who love a good adventure story. In the classroom this book could be used as an example of how to use dialogue to support a story as well as how to create outlandish and unusual characters.

This book is aimed at children 7+ and feeds into a fun and imaginative world that creates light-hearted humour, whilst subtly weaving through deeper themes.

304 pages / Reviewed by Donna Burkert, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 7+

Melanda Notwitch lives with her three ghastly aunts, who use her as a skivvy and slave. Melanda's life changes when one day a girl knocks on her door and asks her to join the witches. This sparks off a chain of events where Melanda is thrust into a fast-paced adventure and meets a series of extraordinary characters.

The Notwitches is strongly reminiscent in tone of Roald Dahl. The villains are truly awful, with stomach-churning habits and horrible dispositions. There are lots of bodily fluid-type jokes that children will find funny, alongside some references adults will also find amusing. Some of the jokes made me laugh, especially the references to TV talent shows.

The illustrations by Dotty Sutton set the tone perfectly and match the zaniness and humour. They bring the ghastly aunts to life and that is not necessarily what you might want to happen…. I have to confess I rather enjoyed the characters' representations in all their dreadfulness!

This is Gary Panton's debut novel, and it leaves everything lined up for another story. Whilst it is quite a long story, the font is large, and this would work well for strong Y3 readers if they are able to manage a chunkier text. 

300 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 7+