On his way to spend Christmas at his mother's house in Canterbury, England, Joe meets a young witch named Twiggy and becomes part of a mystery involving a missing page from an ancient book of magic. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Starred Review. Dale makes a sparkling debut with this sprightly novel introducing 12-year-old Joe Binks who, while traveling by train from London to Canterbury to spend Christmas with his mum and stepfather, inadvertently becomes tangled in a web of dueling witches. First, he disembarks from the train at the wrong stop. Next, a fellow in a "peaked cap" transforms a broomstick into a tricycle that delivers Joe to the headquarters of the Dead-nettle Coven, comprised of a quintet of benign and batty witches. Twiggy, the youngest, befriends Joe, who soon learns about the longstanding competition among covens to find the missing page 513 from a centuries-old definitive book of witchcraft. The convoluted plot features ample corkscrew twists and eccentric characters for whom the author cleverly compounds their identities. Potter fans will appreciate the magical phenomena that Joe encounters, including windsprites, flying creatures who come in and out of view, delivering messages written with invisible witch ink; spectacles with lenses that change colors and look as though they're made of liquid, which render this ink visible to the non-witch eye; and nifty spells and potions a-plenty. Dale nimbly ties together the spidery threads of her story in a beguiling denouement. This cast's amusing antics will keep fantasy fans thoroughly engaged between visits to Hogwarts. Readers will hope that Dale books a return trip to Joe's bewitched world. Ages 8-12. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 5-7 When his father is called away at Christmas, Joe resigns himself to spending the holiday in Canterbury with his mother, stepdad, and seven-year-old half sister, Esme. After a train ride leaves him stranded at the wrong station, he borrows a large tricycle that seems to have a will of its own. It transports him to the ramshackle headquarters of the somewhat disreputable Dead-nettle Coven. The witch world is in an uproar over the theft of the world's most dangerous spell, and, apparently, somebody thinks that Joe has it. When Esme is kidnapped, he and young witch Twiggy are drawn into the hunt for the missing hex and uncover a plot to destroy the Earth's entire witch population. The incongruous chief villain is a bun-sporting librarian whose first line actually is "Shh." All the expected fantasy elements are here a secret, arcane culture coexisting with the mortal sphere, rhymed spells, and magic users with more-or-less good-natured disdain for mortals. The narration relies heavily on flashbacks and expositional dialogue. The settings, both real and fanciful, are convincingly portrayed. There are some mildly humorous touches, but some plot elements don't seem to mesh completely. Joe's discomfort with his second family is emphasized at the beginning, but it plays little role in the action and remains unresolved at the end. Diane Duane's "Young Wizards" series (Harcourt) and Jill Murphy's "Worst Witch" books (Candlewick) have more fully realized magical worlds. Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 4-6. On his way to Canterbury to spend the Christmas holidays with his mother and stepfather, Joe Binks becomes entangled with Twiggy, a novice member of the Dead-nettle coven of witches, and learns that the original copy of Mabel's Book (of potions and spells) has been stolen from the National Museum of Witchcraft. Their task is to recover it before a witch named Logan Dritch manages to cast a diabolical spell. Joe is not a witch, but Twiggy's spells help defeat Logan and her evil twin, Lydia, a frumpy, sensibly dressed librarian. Dale's first novel, set in an English countryside where magic coexists with reality, brims with local color and Briticisms. For the most part, characters ring true, although the knife-wielding librarian turns out to be creepier than any of the witches. Tightly plotted and with enough twists and turns to keep readers on their toes, this will satisfy Harry Potter fans in need of a fantasy fix. KayWeisman. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.