This series is fantastic for younger readers. It provides a brilliant story in a shortened format and with amazing illustrations. Ideal for readers who like a bit of magic, witchy-ness and a strange school community.

This is the second book in the series and there is already a third. It is a fun format in that it reads as a diary style book, where the main character is telling all about her antics and adventures.

Bea and Ash are back and there is still the odd avoidance between Ordinaries and Witches but Bea likes to be friends with Ash,

In this book, they are all preparing for the Grand Tournament, a big date in the witches calendar. What could possibly go wrong?

A super sequel and I have the third ready to read for more magical adventures!

I'm VERY much enjoying this series!

In this, the second in the series, our accidental witch has to navigate friendships - balancing both her witch and non-witch friends.

The diary format continues to allow the humour and Bea to shine through - a throughly enjoyable 2nd book in the series filled with magic, heart and humour.

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this. I was very excited to as I love witch books and magic. However, I was quite shocked that the local state school was referred to as the "ordinaries" and the magical Independent school pupils were "extraordinaries". This came across as classist and in 2022 this seemed rude and out of touch, especially since the state school kids were depicted as aggressive, starting the fight in the cake shop. Also the GO players were called GOers which is widely used slag for a women who is sexually active with a deemed large number of people, inappropriate in a children's book. I wouldn't allow my children to read this and I am surprised the publishers didn't notice these things.

I do appreciate being able to read this and I would very much like to read other books from this publisher, but I sadly cannot recommend this one. I am sorry.

I have not put out reviews based on my feedback.

The book was written in a diary style with pictures to illustrate. I enjoyed the overall concept of the book and the negotiations the character has between her ‘witch’ friends and ‘non-witch’ friends, however, I did find it a little difficult to follow due to the layout of the book.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read in advance. Brilliant laugh out loud style and we read in a day! Highly recommend

So this isn't quite middle grade - it's very early chapter book type level, with lots of illustrations and regular breaks in the story for other bits. Probably aimed at kids at around the age I read The Worst Witch. I wanted to like it more - and maybe for people who haven't already read a lot of witch (and wizard!) books for kids it will work better (so the actual target audience!) but for me it was a little too derivative. But I did like the diary format and the illustrations.

Diary of an Accidental Witch: Flying High is a brilliant addition to this laugh out loud series.

Bea Black is ready for another term at The Spellshire School for Extraordinary Arts, especially as this one promises to be packed with one of her favourite things - sport. But when a cake fight in the local tearoom brings inter-school tensions to boiling point, it's decided that this year's Winter Solstice tournament will be played with a non-magical twist. Can Bea stop her two world from colliding, win gold and keep all of her friends happy?

In the first book, Bea struggles to make friends at her new school, where she feels like a constant outsider. In Flying High she has a hard time keeping all of her new friends happy - especially since ordinary and extraordinary students don't mix.

We loved book one so much that we bought extra copies as gifts. This series is perfect for seven year olds and up who are fans of magic, mayhem and lots of laughs.

We loved the competitiveness in this book. Even the teachers are desperate to win at all costs, with some hilarious consequences, like egg and spoon races on broom sticks where the eggs hatch mid way through, and speed potions that don't wear off for the rest of the day.

Katie Saunders' illustrations bring extra charm and magic to this brilliant story. The layout is also really clever, with lots of lists and crossed out words, so it feels like a real diary.

This series is so much fun and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Thank you Little Tiger for sending us a copy to review.

Bea starts her second diary at the beginning of November, on the first day of half-term. It’s only fifty days until Winter Solstice, which is the “longest and witchiest night of the year”. Before that, though, the students at the School of Extraordinary Arts will be participating in the Grand Tournament, which is “only the biggest, SPORTIEST day in the witchy calendar!”

Bea has learned a lot since we first met her. Our witch-in-training is getting better at flying and her levitation skills are improving. Her incantations may also, well, she needs to find words that rhyme with ‘piggle’ before we discover how she’s faring with those.

There’s still an us and them mentality in Little Spellshire, with Witches and Ordinaries staying well away from one another. This makes it awkward for Bea because, coming from a family of Ordinaries but training to be a witch, Bea has a foot in each world. She’s also friends with Ash, the Ordinary next door, but can’t tell him she’s a witch, no matter how much she wants to.

‘Those of us who know, know and those of them who don’t, can’t.’

Something’s going on with Ash as well and Bea means to ask him what it is, really she does, but she’s just so busy. She needs to prepare for both the Grand Tournament and the Winter Solstice, and take care of Stan and Egg. And there’s homework to do too.

I enjoyed this book just as much I did the first in the series. With a focus on friendships and breaking down the barriers between people, this was a fun read that also included some sage advice.

“Friendships are a bit like eggs you know, Bea. They can be fragile. Best to look after them carefully.”

Katie Saunders’ illustrations bring Bea’s diary to life. I particularly loved the froggy pictures and the ones that showcase the fashionistas that are Bea’s School of Extraordinary Arts’ friends.

I’m looking forward to next term. There’s going to be a residential trip for Year Seven students and a new teacher to meet. I don’t know about you but a geography teacher who is a “world expert on caves, lairs and unexplained snares” sounds like someone I need to befriend, if only so I’m invited along for their adventures.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Tiger Group, an imprint of Stripes Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.

I loved the first book in this four book series and was super excited to get an advanced read of book number two. So with a large bag of fluffmallows and some fizzy skullsquigglers on hand I dived right in…

Bea Black has settled into life in Little Spellshire and is gradually channeling her inner-witch at the local school for extraordinary people. She’s even getting to grips with levitation…finally! It’s exciting times, with the Grand Tournament and the Winter Solstice quickly approaching.

But after a minor frog-related mishap, Ms Sparks announces that the Grand Tournament will be replaced with an ordinary sports day against the local ordinary school, urgh. With magic not allowed, tensions mounting and everyone desperate to win, can Bea avoid being a total toadbrain…

Mother and daughter team Perdita and Conor Cargill have firmly established themselves as two of the funniest and most magical writers of books for young readers and this is another spell-tacular read! Picking up where the second book left off, we join Bea Black as she navigates her way through the second half term at the School of Extraordinary Arts. And what a term it is, fizzing with excitement, new experiences - both good and not so good, and a heck of a lot to learn (even a witch-in-training has to know her eight times table).

Bea’s zany diary is brimming with excitement and hilarious anecdotes and I only wish my life was half as eventful. When she’s not looking after Stan the frog, caring for an unidentified egg or completing a very long list of homework tasks, she’s teaching witches the intricacies of high jump, trying to master flying skills, playing GO and making her first witchy wish on the Winter Solstice Chocolate Log.

Mastering witch skills are not Bea’s only problems. In amongst all of the magical mishaps, hijinks, flying lessons and adventures into the forest is a girl who wants to fit in and make friends. And Bea has plenty of friendship challenges to overcome. Torn between her best non-witch friend Ash and her new witch classmates, she finds herself in a bit of pickle, one which results in a rather spectacular cake and snowball fight that has some very bad consequences.

The somewhat calamitous and unfortunate Bea is no stranger to mishaps and magical blunders and finds herself standing out for all the wrong reasons which is not ideal when your trying to keep your true identity a secret from your best friend and a very enthusiastic dad. And as Bea struggles to balance the two very different worlds in which she lives and keep them secret from one another, it seems only a matter of time before everything will be revealed. But perhaps this won’t be the disaster that Bea fears it will be.

Kind-hearted Bea is absolutely hilarious and her diary of her rather extraordinary day-to-day life is laugh-out-loud fun. Brilliantly illustrated throughout, this is sure to be a hit with any young witches or wizards in training! I know lots of children that are keen to read Harry Potter books but are not quite of the age where the books fit their reading needs so it is awesome to have a new series of books that I can recommend. Bea Black and her misadventures make for a cracking introduction to all things magical school related, it is an absolute treat!

With huge thanks to Little Tiger for the copy I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Recommended for 7+.

It's arrived! The second book in the series of Diary of An Accidental Witch and we even got so impatient, we had to make a headstart on NetGalley. This young fiction series got off to a flying start in the autumn and, as the title of this second release indicates, it's going to continue to soar...

It's the start of a new half term and Bea is super excited to be back at Witch School...er...I mean the School of Extraordinary Arts. Since her dad enrolled her in the wrong school, life in Little Spellshire has been full of surprises. But now Bea has settled in, she simply cannot wait for The Grand Tournament (The witchy equivalent to Sports Day.)

But keeping her new life secret from her dad and neighbour, Ash, is proving increasingly tricky. Can Bea be true to herself and keep everyone happy?

This book is a delight. Written in diary format, interspersed with lists and newsletters, it is endlessly hilarious and highly entertaining. The characters are brilliant;from Stan the frog to Egg to the all-knowing Ms. Sparks, and the plot is truly bewitching. We particularly love Bea's crossings out and the 'Dear Agony Witch' column. The world-building is simple but clear (we LOVE Little Spellshire's eccentric weather) and we are already eagerly awaiting books three and four.

Amid all the magic and mayhem, though, Perdita and Honor Gill manage to wonderfully capture the trials and troubles of a young girl pushed out of her comfort zone. Starting a new school is daunting enough, but starting a new school when you're different to everyone else is excruciating. Coupled with friendship issues and a tricky timetable of school subjects, Bea's awkwardness will be highly relatable for many a reader. But her warmth and determination shines through, empowering pupils to be true to themselves and to embrace both the ordinary and extraordinary.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Little Tiger for allowing us a review copy. Diary of An Accidental Witch: Flying High is available to pre-order and is released on Thursday 3rd February.

Flying high was a brilliant second instalment in the Diary of an Accidental Witch series. The writing was quirky and hilarious. I loved to read about how the Extraordinaries and the Ordinaries competed on sports day! Seeing Bea's extraordinary friends and Ash hang out together made my heart warm! The theme of friendship was executed really well. Overall this was a brilliant light read and I would definitely like to read more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

This is a fun and engaging follow up to the first Diary of an Accidental Witch, but it works perfectly as an introduction to the series. These books, with their fun illustrations, diary style and holographic covers, have been a huge hit with both boys and girls in my year three class (age 7-8).

Bea has moved to Little Spellshire with her absent minded father, who enrolled her in a school of magic instead of the local academy! She has a collection of witchy friends, a class frog to look after and the usual worries about homework and sports, amplified by the fact she is having to learn spells and potions! I loved the todo lists and notes from teachers that break up the diary.

The book is a countdown of her second term, leading up to the Winter solstice celebrations. Bea is an outsider to all the traditions as she didn’t go to the with primary school, and woven into the plot is the difficulty she has keeping it all secret from her best friend Ash, who lives next door. She struggles to spare the time for him due to all the excitement of learning to fly a broomstick and get to grips with spells. Bea has a diverse group of witch friends ( I loved Winnie who hates PE, and Puck with two mums) but can she learn to balance the two worlds?

This is a really fun series of books, a thoroughly modern take on The Worst Witch and perfect for those children who are a few years too young for Harry Potter. It deals with bullying, worries and finding out and valuing your own skills, but with a light, humorous touch. A super class read for year 2 or 3 and a series that will gain many fans.

THE WORST WITCH meets KID NORMAL.

The idea of diary series set in a witch school is absolutely brilliant! Wow. This book is full of heart and humour, and I enjoyed reading it so much that I'm planning to order the first book tomorrow. I loved it all - the premise, the format, the voice, Katie Saunders's illustrations, the title, Stan the frog, the Winter Solstice Grand Tournament, Bea's goals lists, the Egg, the weirdest weather in the world, Bea's friends and her relationship with her weather-scientist dad, etc.

One of the main themes is that different doesn't mean less good.

I found the diary entries about the flying moves rather boring, but other than that this book is so wonderful that words fail me! I look forward to reading the next book about Bea and her friends. Hopefully, it will be about the next term's Year Seven residential trip!

Diary of an Accidental Witch – Flying High
This is the second instalments of Bea’s adventures at the School of Extraordinary Arts and it is just as funny and warm-hearted as the first. The book picks up immediately where the second one ends as Bea enters her second half term at school. Unlike most ordinary schools, the school for Extraordinary Arts is looking forward to the Winter Solstice rather than Christmas and especially their witchy sports day. However, partly due to Bea and her friends, their magical sports day is changed to a day of ordinary sports competing against ordinary, non-magical children from the Academy.
Bea is such a likeable character. She tries her utmost to do the right thing but so often, the results are disastrous, although usually very funny. She is finding her feet at school but this is causing problems for her friendship with Ash, a pupil at the Academy. She is unable to tell him anything about her school life and this leads him to believe that she isn’t actually his friend. She finds it hard to balance both sets of friendships and this causes her to make mistakes but everything works out well in the end.
I loved this new adventure for Bea. The descriptions of events such as the snowball fight and the sports day are brilliantly described and I love her interactions with her father. It is written in short diary entries which are perfect for newly confident readers but there is plenty enough interest to keep older children happy too. The book is again, brilliantly illustrated by Kate Saunders.
Definitely a must for any child who has ever dreamed of being able to do magic or maybe, just to do something extraordinary.
Thank you to Net Galley and also to the publishers who provided an actual copy for review as the kindle version was not helpful.

I loved being back in Bea’s world again for this second story in the series as she celebrates the Winter Solstice with her friends at Extraordinary School.
However, the festivities take a slight turn when the Grand Tornament must change to an ordinary sports day.
A great read full of fun, magic and accidents.
I would definitely recommend to Year 3 and 4 children.

Due to extremely poor formatting issues, it was impossible to make sense of this book. Pages were out of sequence. There was no table of contents to consult, the book started somewhere, but it really became too confusing to continue with.
Such a shame, it sounded very funny in the blurb, hopefully these niggles will be addressed before publishing.

A book about magic but more importantly the magic of friendship.

I simply love Bea and everything she stands for. She tries to do the best and although she makes some mistakes along the way her heart is always in the right place.

I also really loved Ms Sparks - there is a kindness and knowingness to her. I sense she is very much on Bea’s side.

Finding a way to bring two groups together has been her secret wish and I am looking forward to seeing what adventures her and her Extraordinary friends have now that Ash is part of the gang.

As a child I loved the Worst Witch books and I am delighted to see a new witch on the scene - I know these books will be very popular with children (and their grownups).

Perfect for year 3 and up (7+)

Written in a diary style with short chunks of text yet maintaining a high standard of language this book will have great appeal to those newly fluent readers who want an exciting yet accessible story to read independently. The characters are fun and their relationships relatable. The storyline moves fast enough to keep even reluctant readers engaged. This book will be a great asset to a LKS2 bookshelf.

‘Diary of an accidental witch: flying high’ is the second instalment of the diary of Bea Black, student at the School of Extraordinary Arts in Little Spellshire. It picks up right where the first book left off and takes place during Bea’s second half term at the school. It’s the half term holidays and Bea’s friend and neighbour, Ash, wants to hang out with her. However, he isn’t a witch and doesn’t know that Bea is as he attends the very ordinary Spellshire Academy. Bea’s got some unusual homework to do like levitate objects and find sneezewort and mad dogweed in the forest which is taking up most of her time. Her witch friends Winnie, Amara, Puck and Fabi tell her about the extremely exciting Grand Tournament that always takes place during the upcoming half term. It’s the witch equivalent of sports’ day, including sports like ‘Go’, a witch sport played on broomsticks which Bea happens to love. Bea finds it increasingly difficult to juggle magical and non-magical friends. They can’t all meet up together as there are too many magical things she can’t mention in front of Ash.
Just as with the first book, Katie Saunders’ illustrations make it look like a real diary with doodles in the margins, words crossed out and things stuck in. The story is just as enjoyable as the first and full of humour. The characters are likeable and the way they attempt to navigate friendships and school life is realistic, despite the magical setting! I was excited to return to Little Spellshire and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is a fabulous sequel to Book 1 and follows on beautifully for the 2nd half of Bea’s first term at Spellshire Extraordinary School. Bea faces the same problem of not fitting in, but by now her skills are improving and she has her good group of friends to help her out. Stan the frog is a permanent fixture, and Bea is also entrusted with an egg to grow. There is rivalry between the Ordinary school and Bea’s school, and it’s decided to turn the Winter Solstice celebrations into a Sports Day for both schools. No spells or cheating are allowed and much hilarity ensues in practising. Perfect for ages 6 - 10, this book will have children laughing out loud at Bea’s antics - keep an eye out for eggs in their sock drawers though!