this second book in the series does not disappoint. I loved the way the heroine has to negotiate between her witch and non-witch friends and realizes that perhaps they should learn to understand each other. A fantastic read about friendship and also about family.

‘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!

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+)

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.

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
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.

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!

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.

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+.